The Ultimate Punishment
by DestinyWing
Summary: Just as the Mastermind had said. If you pick Hope, then the Mastermind will be executed, and the survivors will be free from this game. But if you pick Despair, then only the 'Protagonist' of this story will get executed. Of course, NO ONE would even dare to pick Despair! Or would they? [ULTIMATE REVIVAL]
1. CLASS TRIAL VOTING TIME

For the new readers of The Ultimate Punishment, I greet you welcome. You may call me by the name of Trishia, DestinyWing is just a username after all. I would like to give some reminders for the people who started to read the first chapter that this story is released BEFORE the English Dub was announced, so I follow a lot of fan translations or interpretations from the Japanese version of the game. This story is currently Beta Read by two authors, CelestiaLightoftheGalaxy and Plummy Plums, and I try my best to write a story in paragraphs despite English being not my first language.

With that further ado, welcome to The Ultimate Punishment.

* * *

 **Warning:**

 **This story is contained with spoilers involving Danganronpa V3. If you hadn't seen it, move away now.**

* * *

And so, the Junko-Enoshima-Ringleader-Mastermind-Whatever-Wannabe Tsumugi Shirogane announces the mechanics for the final voting...

One on One.

Hope against Despair.

If the three voted Hope, then the Junko-Enoshima-Ringleader-Mastermind-Whatever-Wannabe Tsumugi Shirogane will get executed. However, there is a catch. Since the rules of the game must have two survivors, two people had to sacrifice themselves and get executed also in the game.

But if they voted Despair, then only Ki-Bo will be one who'll get executed in the trial. Then only the game would continue until there are two people left in the game. Of course, the Ultimate Hope would pick Hope as a way of eradicating Despair and finally end the _(53rd)_ killing game of the century. As usual.

But oh my~! The Junko-Enoshima-Ringleader-Mastermind-Whatever-Wannabe Tsumugi Shirogane has some more tricks up her sleeves! Would this 'Despair-Inducing Mastermind' be ever stopped? She just killed our beloved 'protagonist' Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist. Who framed her, sent Kaede to her execution, strangled, stoned, and CRUSHED to our 'protagonist's' own death?! How long is this killing would last?! Look at the poor babies!

Himiko Yumeno, our cute Ultimate Magician, was once a lazy girl who lost two of her beloved friends at the hands of the disgusting, woman killer. And even if she begged our Mastermind in returning her memories, it's impossible because the Flashback Light can only implant even more false memories. Heck, even our writers preferred the Himiko they know rather than her old self. She's just so cute!

Maki, Maki, Maki Harukawa! The Ultimate Assassin, or, Child Caretaker. But whatever! Everything had been scripted for her to falling in love with her precious Kaito Momota, who sacrificed his own life just to save his girlfriend from getting executed. While the makers were in a rush and thus had to do Jin Kirigiri's execution all over again, which FAILED, it just didn't matter as long as Maki was there.

Oh, don't forget Shuichi Saihara. The _(show's Plan B)_ 'protagonist', the Ultimate Detective. That boy is a treasure, a timid boy who lost his love and became the protagonist that the whole world watches from the cameras. It's so sad that Shuichi went blank when we showed him his audition tapes. The whole Team Danganronpa was there to watch the finale that everyone had been working on.

 _And lastly! ...Um...Uh...Who's the fourth one again?_

 _Bah! Who cares about that stupid camera? That junk's disposable anyway, we can always get a new one!_

But anyway!

Oh, those children! They've already succumbed to their Despairs, what will they ever do?!

Well, that makes our viewers worldwide flush with adrenaline! That's our Tsumugi! Injecting the characters with despair **until they die!**

* * *

 **CLASS TRIAL**

 **VOTING TIME**

* * *

Shuichi Saihara looked at the screen on his trial podium, it flashed the class trial voting system early for some odd reason. His eyes were still blurred from crying too hard, the shock of this...reality show he'd been participating. Everything he knew, everyone he loved, it was all nothing but a lie. Kaede Akamatsu, the girl who inspired him to face the Truth, was nothing but a lie. Kaito Momota, his close friend that sacrificed his life to save Maki and end the game, was also nothing but a lie. Surely, Himiko and Maki got the same reaction when he looked at the two girls. They were silent, but they were looking at Shuichi after, thinking if ever the Ultimate Detective knows about this. The truth is, he doesn't.

The screen's timer started ticking, and his heart dropped when he saw all of his 'classmate's faces being marked with a cross on it. The cross symbolizes that they're done. Finished. D-E-A-D. Dead. And it was only five of them remaining; he, Maki, Himiko, Tsumugi, and Ki-Bo.

Though the voting was twisted for the show's grand finale, it's either Tsumugi or Ki-Bo, the representatives of Despair and Hope, will be given their fates in the end. One has to be executed for the survivors to be free from the killing game...if there were two of them though. Which is unfair to all, there were four people left, the rules said that it had to be two! The Mastermind already said it, while cosplaying the so-called 'Characters' from the previous shows.

He was stressed out because of this conflict that he couldn't even think, two people will have to sacrifice themselves so the other two would live. Ki-Bo, the show's Ultimate Hope, had already volunteered to be sacrificed. Shuichi tried to stop the robot from doing such a reckless act, but Ki-Bo already had his fate locked.

"Please...do not worry...If it's for the sake of Hope, then I will accept my decision for it. I will not let Despair to win!" The Ultimate Hope had said, and there's no turning back.

"Ki...Ki-Bo...!" Himiko looked at the robot who wanted himself to be sacrificed. These surprises are getting into her brain too much. Sadness, anger, disgust. It's a mix.

Now that Ki-Bo volunteered, only one person was needed left. Three persons; Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko. One of them has to raise their voice and say "I will sacrifice myself!" or something.

Unless they picked Despair. If they did, then Ki-Bo will be executed. And the Mastermind gave them the privilege to stay in the Ultimate Academy forever, they don't have to kill anyone anymore they execute Ki-Bo this instant. But that's unfair also, killing a robot was also like being 'robo-phobic' to Ki-Bo.

Now, why was it odd to have the voting system opened early? Shuichi doesn't know. He doesn't know anymore, and he stayed silent once more.

He couldn't even afford to care when the screen in front of him went static.

* * *

 **VOTING TIME**

 _Ultimate Pianist, Kaede Akamatsu_

 _Ultimate ? ? ?, Rantaro Amami_

 _Ultimate Inventor, Miu Iruma_

 _Ultimate Supreme Leader, Kokichi Oma_

 **Ultimate Hope, Ki-Bo**

 _Ultimate Entomologist, Gonta Gokuhara_

 **Ultimate Detective, Shuichi Saihara**

 **Ultimate Cosplayer, Tsumugi Shirogane**

 _Ultimate Anthropologist, Korekiyo Shinguji_

 _Ultimate Aikido Master, Tenko Chabashira_

 **Ultimate Assassin, Maki Harukawa**

 _Ultimate Tennis Pro, Ryoma Hoshi_

 _Ultimate Astronaut, Kaito Momota_

 **Ultimate Magician, Himiko Yumeno**

 _Ultimate Artist, Angie Yonaga_

* * *

Chapter Beta Read by: CelestiaLightoftheGalaxy

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Greetings, this is the first Danganronpa V3 fan fiction. I also posted this in Archive On Our Own.

For the people who watched the whole plot of Danganronpa V3, this is a 'what if' scenario if Ki-Bo was voted to get executed. The spark came from a fan made MMD video in NicoNicoDouga where there is a Ki-Bo execution, it's a must watch, the animation is so good.

So anyways, here's the drill. Pick Tsumugi or Ki-Bo to be executed. The italics are the dead ones and the bold are the alive.


	2. TIMES UP

**Warning:**

 **This story is contained with spoilers from Danganronpa V3. If you haven't, please move away now.**

 **Another note, please remember that this fanfiction has the genre of "Canon Divergence" according to Archive On Our Own. Meaning, there will be changes within the game.**

* * *

It's a threat. It's a really big threat, per se. Tsumugi Shirogane created a threat to Ki-Bo that there will be no Killing Games anymore once the Ultimate Hope is executed.

That Cosplayer Wannabe is quite persuasive! Cosplaying here and there, which is creepy considering that she's pretending to be every single _Danganronpa_ character just to lure the three. Good thing the Team wasn't in there or one of them would have a heart attack when she's playing their favorite character right in their faces.

And it's not just the Team who got goosebumps by our 'Executive Producers' way of acting as Tsumugi Shirogane, but also to our audiences, most of them were in the use of live streams online _(not 'On The Line'. that is so 2013)_. We also broadcasted the show's 'finale' all over the world, live via satellite!

America, Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, yadda, yadda, yadda...In short, our reality-fiction television show is a worldwide phenomenon. We could even see the news airing about the events on _V3_ , it's becoming a top trend in every social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, or even Tumblr, and Kumafare when our 'Ultimate Hope' went rogue when he malfunctioned right after Kaito's _(stupid)_ execution.

We could see our robot's distressed face, all of us were able to see him shaking on his podium despite the fact he tried to hide it because the robot's representing as 'Hope' itself in _V3_. He's adorable that's for sure, the audiences even asked the Team whether the robot's new mascot or something compared to Monokuma and the new Monokuma Cubs. Too bad they weren't satisfied when the Cubs were nothing but useless children just to get themselves killed at the executions, unlike the adorable humanoid robot, whose existence does help increase the ratings, but that's because we need the audience participation for the robot to at least do something.

* * *

 _And that's where you come in._

 _You, the audience, will be given the participation in the final class trial._

 _You will be given the privilege of being the player itself, right in the comfort of your home._

 _As an audience, you now have the power to give our characters their destiny._

 _One will live._

 _One will die._

 _Who will it be?_

 _Despair?_

 _Or Hope?_

 _Tsumugi Shirogane, the Ultimate Cosplayer, our New Killing School Life ringleader?_

 _Or Ki-Bo, the Ultimate Robo-, no, your...our...Ultimate Hope?_

 _Who should be executed?_

 _Make your decision._

 ** _Every vote counts._**

* * *

 **TIMES UP**

* * *

 **What is she doing?**

"Once we end this killing game, we could stay here together forever!" Not Aoi Asahina smiled before Tsumugi quickly changed to the bratty Ultimate Traditional Dancer, Hiyoko Saionji with her petite arms raising high in the sky in joy, "Let's stay here forever!" she squealed. Himiko winced at the Traditional Dancer's enthusiasm, questioning why Team Danganronpa even selected her in the first place.

Hiyoko then became the Ultimate Pop Sensation, Sayaka Maizono, "There will be no more killings once you make a decision."

 **It's a trap.**

Ki-Bo couldn't stop getting this feeling of fear right inside him. What Tsumugi was trying to do to his friends...she's trying to make the three betray him.

"Let's stay here together forever..." Mikan Tsumiki, the fan service Ultimate Nurse, that 'Beloved Despair' coursing through her veins again. Ugh, why did that darn cosplayer dress up as her?! Good thing Tsumugi changed into the Ultimate Programmer, Chihiro Fujisaki before Mikan could do anything compromising again.

"Together...all of us together."

 **Everyone...you can't stay here...**

Their voices were starting to ring inside Maki's head. She wanted to think for herself, but it's all too noisy to think. So now the rules changed again?! Though at the same time, it does sound…pleasing. Even though she didn't show it, a slight pang made her open her mouth. "You mean…we're going to live here….forever?" She asked 'Chihiro' before he changed into the outside world's favorite Ultimate Gamer, Chiaki Nanami.

 **Not again...**

"If you want the killing game to end here, just execute Ki-Bo. And you won't have to worry about killing anymore...we could all just live here together…" Tsumugi cosplaying Chiaki Nanami said with a "reassuring" voice, it mocks the viewers online just to see their so-called 'Waifu' talking like that, but that's part of the thing ya know?

 **Please...don't kill me...**

"Well? Shall we?" Mahiru Koizumi, the Ultimate Photographer, asked them once more before turning into Junko Enoshima again.

 **I beg of you!**

"Together...forever?"

 **DON'T KILL ME!**

The robot slammed his hands onto his podium loud enough that Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko were alarmed from his sudden outburst.

 **"DON'T FALL FOR HER TRAP!"**

His shoulders went up and down slowly as if he was synthetically breathing, and his twitching hands slowly curled into fists, he didn't face his three friends but they could see how angry he was at them.

When Ki-Bo looked up, he gave them a deadly glare. This was the first time they had ever seen the robot got really REALLY mad, and it's not the kind of anger whenever he refutes any of the 'robophobic' remarks against him. From that look, a mental note was sent into their brains. They do NOT want to see him that angry.

"You can't end this killing game, not by Despair..." Ki-Bo muttered, he sounded calm but irritated also. His synthetic face was turned to the three, but he didn't look like he was mad at them anymore, as he quickly calmed down.

But his own emotion wasn't calm at all, it appeared more to the robot as being completely 'tired, but still fighting'

"It's by Hope!" He proved it.

Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko gasped at the word.

* * *

 **"Hope?"** Himiko asked in depression

 **"Hope?"** Shuichi eventually questioned that choice

 **"Hope?"** Maki got the small spark of this...proclamation

* * *

 **MASS PANIC DEBATE**

 **START!**

* * *

Truth Bullet: Hope

* * *

"The world outside craves Despair!" The cosplaying Tsumugi boasted her power as Junko Enoshima the 53rd.

"The killing game will live on forever!" Monokuma in the background talked to the audience while the panic debate is ongoing.

"..." Shuichi is silent while tears are continuously flowing below his eyes.

"This killing game will end in Despair!" Tsumugi turned back into her plain self.

" _Danganronpa_!" The bear cheered.

"..." Himiko stared at the ground while having nothing to refute for.

"Everyone wants to feel Despair!" The phony cosplayer taunted when she became Junko.

"And the audience absolutely loves me!" Monokuma said in pleasure.

"..." Maki bit her lip, wanting to ignore the villain's despairing words.

"Despair is _Danganronpa_!" Tsumugi's saliva drips down on the podium.

"Sometimes I even look like this!" Monokuma's stuffed body is morphed into something humanistic with his chest and arms are given some additional muscles.

"..." The Ultimate Detective remained speechless.

"This Despair's gonna screw up reality itself!" She said with her arms folded while her fingers formed a hand sign of horns.

"This is my 53rd appearance too!" Monokuma continues on ranting.

"..." The Ultimate Assassin's eyes slowly raised towards Ki-Bo's direction

 **"This time, the theme is the Despair of a Bad Ending!" - Refute "HOPE"**

"And we've got merchandise! Be sure to check out the webpage!"

"..." The red-haired mage tries to hold back her tears.

Ki-Bo cried out, **"Hope lives on!"**

* * *

 **Break**

* * *

"I am not going to give in to Despair! … Hope... Hope will never fall into Despair!" Ki-Bo cried out when he faced Tsumugi, determined to end the Killing Game by choosing Hope, no matter what.

Even though he was aware that no matter what happens, he's still going to have sacrifice himself.

 **I know what will happen to me after that, but...I just want everyone to be free from this game!**

Tsumugi, still in Junko's clothing, tapped her high-heel boot on the ground, her arms were crossed and her eyes were closed. Based on what the robot saw from the body language of Junko Enoshima cosplaying Tsumugi seemed impatient about something, but he couldn't tell what made the Wannabe Mastermind irritated.

 **Why isn't Tsumugi taunting me like the last time?**

She then looked at the monochrome bear who was sitting at the highest podium, the bear was also showing some signs of impatience. Ki-Bo saw Monokuma tapping his paw on the armrest, though that was all he could see from the judge itself.

 **Are they...waiting for something?**

 **Then...what?**

"Boring."

The only word the Ultimate Despair had said, even though the said Ultimate was a fictional character.

"B-Boring?!" Ki-Bo was startled, the _Trigger Happy Havoc_ character was desperate to have Despair. If she said that word, then there's something bad would happen.

"Yes! Boring!" Monokuma stood up from his throne, he stomps his feet like the bear was a whiny child. "Boring! B-O-R-I-N-G! Boring! As in, this is getting dull and not exciting. This thing isn't going anywhere without anything entertaining! UGH! Can you stop being boring and get on with the final vote already?!" Monokuma sat back on his chair, exhausted from his childish rant.

The Ultimate Cosplayer disguised as Junko nodded her head with an eerie smile, "You know what, Monokuma? You're right! This is getting Despaaaaringly booooriiiing!"

The silent three looked up at Tsumugi, their former friend who murdered Rantaro, framed Kaede, and drove the others into their deaths. Now, what is she up to?

* * *

Butterfly Effect #30

On Set.

 _"It has been said something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world."_

 _\- Chaos Theory_

* * *

Junko then turned into the Ultimate Cosplayer herself, Tsumugi Shirogane.

"Let's not do the final vote then."

Shuichi suddenly snapped from his long trance. "What? ...You're just going to forfeit the voting?" he asked the _Danganronpa 53_ 's Ringleader. How could she say that so calmly? They were in the middle of a life or death situation! The cruel vote on picking who should die went off as a joke?! What's with this woman?!

"What...kind of a SICK JOKE WAS THAT?!" The fictional Ultimate Detective's hand curled into a fist, then pointed an accusing finger to Tsumugi. "You...How could you say that as if you're making a stupid prank on us?! You betrayed us, drove our friends into murder, and set up this stupid game just for your disgusting entertainment! How could you do this to us?! Don't you have any emotions?! Do you not care at all about what you did to us, you... **monster?!** "

Ki-Bo looked at Shuichi in grief, the Ultimate Detective was the one who got affected by the game the most. He got kidnapped, lost Kaede, had to went through so many trials and sent his classmates to their demise, and here he was nothing more but an obsessed fan of a good for nothing killing game show.

Tsumugi, however, wasn't swayed by Shuichi's sermon. "Geez, Shuichi, it's as if the world was crumbling down; which it is, by the way. You overreact too much! I already forbade any of us to vote, you don't have to go through a stressful time in choosing which one of us should die! So stop acting like a crybaby! The fans didn't like you whining like that since episode one!" She pointed to the floating comments that appeared to be bad.

 _"Oh man, he's crying?!"_

 _"Not again..."_

 _"Everyone cover your ears!"_

 _"What a crybaby!"_

 _"Maybe he should be executed instead of Ki-Bo!"_

 _"Can't he just shut up for once?"_

Shuichi winced at the malicious comments, he wiped his teary red eyes and became silent once more. Himiko was even disgusted on how people on the Outside World treated her friend like that, and Maki questioned this new twist in regards to forfeiting the voting.

"Hey! If you said that you forfeit the voting, then the game won't end!" Maki remembered the system of the class trial, it'll never end unless the time's up or one of them already voted for the blackened.

"Yeah, why?"

"So how would the game end, then?"

Tsumugi smiled a normal smile, but everyone knew that there's another twist that would happen and they had to brace themselves for it.

"We'll let the audience decide themselves!"

 **W...what? ...WHAT?!**

This made the four jumped in alarm. They already know how the audience from the Outside World had treated them, and it was bound to be dreadful. Tsumugi looked at Ki-Bo and gave the robot a taunting smirk, "While you were yapping all around with your stupid and boring Hope, our Team had set up and even more exciting challenge for our fellow viewers. So, instead of us voting, it'll be them instead!"

 **No...why now?!**

Ki-Bo hands began to shake, what could be worse than a sadistic audience controlling the story this time around?!

"Also, the voting just got closed a while ago, and the Team was now calculating how many votes they got!"

"You mean that everything was a diversion?!" Himiko shrieked as Monokuma stepped in to make an announcement.

 **This can't be...**

* * *

 **Times have changed, Robot Boy**

* * *

"Attention _Danganronpa_ viewers! This is Monokuma, your Despairingly adorable game host!" The bear enthusiastically waved his hand at where the Nanokubs cameras had set their miniature cameras.

"Voting was officially closed minutes ago, and Team Danganronpa has finally calculated your votes. Puhuhuhuhu! With your votes, the final cast will know the verdict of this heart-throbbing game! Who will be chosen to be the Executed? Will our viewers pick Hope, or will they pick Despair? Will they pick Ki-Bo, the Ultimate Hope? Or will it be Tsumugi Shirogane, _V3_ 's Ringleader and the Ultimate Cosplayer? Who's it gonna be? Who's it gonna beeeeee?!"

Above Monokuma's throne was a large flatscreen television lowering itself close.

Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko looked at the screen with their breaths hold; the fate of the two representatives rests within the viewer's hands.

Tsumugi looked at the Ultimate Hope with a glare nonchalantly as Ki-Bo couldn't take his eyes off the television as the tallying of votes begin to process.

* * *

 **RESULTS**

 _Ultimate Pianist, Kaede Akamatsu_

 _Ultimate ? ? ?, Rantaro Amami_

 _Ultimate Inventor, Miu Iruma_

 _Ultimate Supreme Leader, Kokichi Oma_

 **Ultimate Hope, Ki-Bo - IIIIIIIIIII**

 _Ultimate Entomologist, Gonta Gokuhara_

 **Ultimate Detective, Shuichi Saihara - I**

 **Ultimate Cosplayer, Tsumugi Shirogane - IIIIII**

 _Ultimate Anthropologist, Korekiyo Shinguji_

 _Ultimate Aikido Master, Tenko Chabashira_

 **Ultimate Assassin, Maki Harukawa**

 _Ultimate Tennis Pro, Ryoma Hoshi_

 _Ultimate Astronaut, Kaito Momota_

 **Ultimate Magician, Himiko Yumeno**

 _Ultimate Fine Artist, Angie Yonaga_

* * *

 **VERDICT**

 **"KI-BO"**

* * *

Oh, how he wished that whatever he saw was a Lie...

* * *

Chapter Beta Read by: PlummyPlums

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Okay, so this is the vote statistics not only from this site, but also on Archive On Our Own, Tumblr, and a little bit in Facebook.

Tsumugi got lots of votes in AO3 with the number of 3 votes, while Ki-Bo got 2 votes.

But in here, we got 2 votes for Tsumugi, 1 vote for Shuichi, and 2 votes for Ki-Bo. So it's a little bit of a tie.

I also showed this on my Facebook, I got 1 vote for Tsumugi, and 2 votes for Ki-Bo

While in Tumblr, just in case we couldn't really get the majority vote for Ki-Bo. So the likes were actually representing the vote for Ki-Bo, in which I got 5 'likes' which will be 'votes' instead.

I'm actually nervous in posting this chapter, because I was following the exact segment of the Final Class Trial. Because V3 was still in Japanese, I had to look for translation videos or even interpret what I see on the situation. The Mass Panic Debate was the hardest one because I had to put on what they said during that segment.

The next chapter will be intense for me because this will be really off with the official game completely since I'm going to make progress on Ki-Bo's execution, but I'm gonna do the post-trial segment first before we're going to the main execution. I already got an idea on his execution and it might not be the one you'll expect because of what happened on the Mass Execution in the finale.


	3. FINAL CLASS TRIAL END

**Warning:**

 **This story contains spoilers from Danganronpa V3. If you have not read the plot, move away now.**

 **As part of the Danganronpa series, there will be appearances of the former Danganronpa characters and it is not the ones that you will expect.**

 **This chapter will give you a glimpse of 'Team Danganronpa' and this will serve as a 'Breather Chapter' before we get to move on to Ki-Bo's execution.**

 **Finally, this narrative style of this chapter will contain the aspect of 'Breaking, but not truly breaking the Fourth Wall'. Whatever happens in the story is still within the story itself.**

* * *

 _"I seek without tiring, I desire without limit,_ _I agonize without peace, my thoughts start to warp."_

I couldn't stop staring at one screen that shows the robot getting beaten by the season 53's _(plan B)_ 'Protagonist'.

 _"I'm vexed, I become miserable;_ _I feel only impatience, jealousy._ _I have delusions, my thoughts run wild;_ _What more will you take from me?"_

You could see that the camera felt pain from what he formerly knew as his friend. My chin was dunked on my cup of coffee, air bubbles were floating above the brewed scent of caffeine. It may look disgusting, but that's my habit. But anyway, my own body couldn't move when I watched those two giving Despair to me. I know them because I'm part of the team.

 _"For talent that shoots far above imagination._ _There can be no match, I can only let out a sigh_

 _I can see hope, or so I should see,_ _I should be saved, so then how can this be..."_

Ahhhh...The sweet moment of Despair coursing through my veins. Well, literally. I didn't blink at all by the time I stared at the screen itself and it's PURE TORTURE. Sure, the radiating light and my physical stupidity made my eyes swell in red and now my sight begins to blur because the salt liquid was covering my eyes. I'm not a windshield wiper and my eyelids refuse to close them at once. Even my man-made water got mixed with my coffee, it's not delicious anymore.

 _"I want to see all with my limited field of sight and between your gaps engage in fight._

 _The unseen world must have an endless view, so I want to entrust it all to you._

 _In the reality I pretend not to see, "Look at me," for a stranger, is irrationality._

 _I fear my senses will soon come back to me, and my calmed self whispers quietly."_

 _"Director?"_

From my blurred vision, I saw a dark, warping tentacle blocking my view to the television screen.

" _Hello? Director? Yoohoo!"_

What's with that octopus, or whatever I'm seeing, blocking the best moment in _Danganronpa_ history? I already got my vision blurred and now, I'm guessing it's _Slenderman_ , was trying to prevent me from falling to Despair. I groaned by blowing more air bubbles to my salty coffee.

 _"Director, wake up."_

Hey, whatever you are, get out and let me watch the show!

 _"They're just pixels..."_

 **"DIRECTOR NAEGI!"**

That scared me that I spat my coffee to the screen. I coughed so loud because some of the coffee went to my esophagus and it's an instinct of the human body to spit something that doesn't belong to my lungs! I didn't know that someone was calling me out, but they don't have to shout at me like that! Geez! What's with this dude?

My coughing started to cease as I looked to the culprit who spat my coffee out, I gave the man a look when I know who he was.

The man was wearing formal attire, complete with a black tuxedo and a necktie. I recognized the man by the single strand of thick hair sticking out of his head, his olive eyes were staring at me and my coffee-stained clothes.

It was the Team Danganronpa's Second Unit Director and my friend, Hajime Hinata.

"Hajime Hinata, you better have a good reason why you have to scream at my eardrums." I wiped my mouth even though I'm still coughing from the coffee that I got chocked with, but Hajime wasn't pleased with it either.

"Well if you hadn't stared at 'you know what' too much, then Juzo wouldn't have to strangle you AGAIN like what happened at the _End of Hope's Peak Academy_. That guy was worried that he might literally kill you years ago!" Hajime reprimanded me while he cleans the screen with his handkerchief.

Juzo Sakakura, the head security guard of Team Danganronpa, is the former actor that he played as the guy that some fans got bitter with ever since his first character debut in _Danganronpa 3: End Of Hope's Peak Academy_ as the Ex-Ultimate Boxer approximately 10 years ago. He's a good guy actually behind the camera, still being friends with Kyosuke Munakata, a known actor who played as the Ex-Ultimate Student Council President and Chisa Yukizome _(his wife)_ is also a fellow actress who played as the Ex-Ultimate Housekeeper.

So far, they're still present in the company along with Juzo, who still got some heart attacks when he almost killed me in the set when my character got brainwashed and had to snap out of it by Juzo chocking me, it was the most unforgettable experience for him. But in my opinion, it's not the worst-case scenario, the worst one still had to be when I got almost crushed by a big block of metal in my _After Class Lesson_ execution.

But that's enough of the past, let's move on to the future. As in, my workspace.

So far we're still in the control room while watching the outcome of the voting, the final characters were still in present. We're in the post-trial segment, it's one of the crucial parts of the game in where the viewers will know why the culprit did such murder. It's also the time where the Construction team, lead by Kazuichi Soda, to set up the Executions that the Blackened had to deal with their bloody demise.

FYI, the characters that took the part in the past _Danganronpa_ shows were now working in the company. It's pretty much the same thing when working with Future Foundation, except without _(the fake)_ Izuru Kamakura or Junko Enoshima or even that _(stupid, unforgivable, disgusting, unreliable)_ Tsumugi Shirogane to ruin things around. Despite being the best 'Executive Producer' around Team Danganronpa, she and I have may some...disagreements that it makes me wish that she die as soon as possible.

Just a glimpse of the company's past, Team Danganronpa was founded by _(the real)_ Izuru Kamakura who contributed this new found 'Justice System' that was based on the famous game called _Danganronpa_. That's where my first job as an actor began as the Ex-Ultimate Lucky Student and then as the Ultimate Hope later, I became a popular icon in the company back in the day and it's mostly an 'actors only' show wherein we warned everyone about the raising _(non-existing)_ crimes that happened around the world along with the inmate popularity from the maximum-security prisons we visited, until we get the glimpse that some people from the real world, ordinary person or a legitimate criminal, to join in _Danganronpa_. That's where the Ultimate Reality-Fiction series had bloom started from _Danganronpa 4_ to _Danganronpa 53_ , where they were killed off for real.

Supposedly, the viewers would react violently from what we did.

But no, they don't and they don't even care.

Sure, there are still some Human Rights advocates who wanted to stop this game, but media's a dork you know? The audience just wanted a good piece of entertainment from their boring lives, and we're just giving it to them.

"Okay, so right now we're setting up the final execution for Ki-Bo. We got a piece of information from our camerawoman, Mahiru, to set the cameras where the audience from their homes won't have any difficulty to see what's going on. Juzo, along with Taka and Mondo's team, were on maximum security just in case a riot might happening outside." Hajime read the notes from his notebook, a trait that he got from Chisa.

I nodded. As a director, everything should be according to plan, after all. Otherwise, I might get stoned by the _Danganronpa_ viewers if ever I took a step out of the company. "Anything else?" I asked Hajime while sipping on my tear-stained coffee, it's salty but it's still coffee. I could see my reflection on the liquid, I already got large eye bags from staying up too late. I'm getting too old for this...

And I'm guessing that you have to ask what that 'you know what' was in the past paragraphs of this chapter. Well, you may not like it one bit.

Of course, the 'you know what' was that _(stupid, low quality)_ brainwashing video that the Team had to apply inside the set. It was made by the Head Editor team who were the actors portrayed as the Ex-Ultimate Despair and the Ex-Ultimate _(as in retired)_ Animator. Well, sure it's low quality like what happened to _Danganronpa 3_ , the biggest base breaker according to the fans of it. They still hadn't got over it, that's for sure. But to make the episode end, we had to use it one last time. I'm sure **you readers** would feel like it's all rushed, but it's all going to be worth it in the end. The thing is, you don't even know where EXACTLY we put the brainwashing video in the first place, but it already had taken the effects that you don't even notice that it was there in the first place.

Hajime flipped through his pages until he stopped to a page that has a black dot marked on it, "Well, I got from Chihiro that it's finally loaded up."

"You mean?"

"Yes, all we need now is Ki-Bo and then we're done with this episode."

"Finally, we've done with this thing. I really want to go to the next one as soon as possible."

That robot, I thought that it's absurd to have a technologically advanced humanoid robot in the game. But then again we got Alter Ego in _Trigger Happy Havoc_ , Chiaki Nanami and Mechamaru Nidai in _Goodbye Despair_ _(still working here at this point)_ , and then Miaya Gekkogahara _(whose neck wasn't twisted by the way) at_ the _End of Hope's Peak Academy_.

Ki-Bo was our first robot participant in the main killing game. Engineers, Programmers, and Designers worked hard to make my dream character came true in _V3_.

He was just...perfect.

Ever since I finally backed down as an actor and tried to come up for a new Ultimate Hope, one that shines more than I do, I gave everything to recreate the Ultimate Hope that the _Danganronpa_ viewers remembered from me.

I'm so proud of him on how far he had come as the new Ultimate Hope. And now, it is time for his untimely demise.

* * *

 **FINAL CLASS TRIAL**

 **END**

* * *

The gravity propelled trial podiums lowered themselves as the propellers disappeared once it touched the floor. The loud whirring of the podium slowly fades away as the courtroom has finally given the fictional characters pure silence.

Once the voting results showed the final verdict, then it's over in _Danganronpa_.

It's over for everyone.

It's over for Ki-Bo.

No one had given the chance to spoke up, not even Himiko, the Ultimate Magician who was once labelled as a lazy girl was given courage by her friend Tenko, to finally express her emotions no matter how hard it was to even show it to people on how she felt like when she was stuck in the game. To finally cry as the sign of Himiko's rebirth to live on and survive in honor of her friend. Now she had the power to speak up and stand up for herself against the odds. She was the one who even had attempted to talk to Tsumugi about the final voting. The giant television screen had finally shut her mouth once she saw Ki-Bo's name got the highest tally among the last class trial.

When the Ultimate Assassin heard the word that was uttered to the robot's synthetic mouth, a spark of courage ignited inside her. It's something unusual for her after what she'd gone through in her 'fake' past and in the Killing Game, where she got almost executed thanks to Tsumugi who used her as a 'puppet' for entertainment. But because of Ki-Bo's encouragement to end this game by Hope, she remembered how Kaito, her 'fake' couple, was determined to stop the Killing Game from continuing and saved her life just so she can live on. With that spark, she was ready to volunteer herself to be sacrificed to end this godforsaken show for good. And once that happens, she can finally kill Tsumugi for killing the innocent people who were manipulated by the Mastermind, including herself. But it was too late for that.

Tsumugi, the Ultimate Cosplayer who caused everything in havoc ever since she existed, wiped her eyeglasses as if it's the only thing she would ever do whenever she gets bored out of something. This is the part where she got bored, her former friends were statues, they were doing nothing, and it made the Ringleader bored! Well, at least she made the Team proud this time from _a (useless)_ effort to put up V3 in the first place. It looked like she dedicated this one to herself, to the point where she became the bad guy herself in the Killing Game. She placed her eyeglasses to the bridge of her nose, clearing her blurred view to where the failed Ultimate Hope was motionless.

She scoffed, "Well? Anything to refute, Ki-Bo?"

The robot wasn't still moving and even silent from what he saw.

Tsumugi sighed, after the adrenaline from the Despair she experienced, it's logical that the human body tired out. Ugh, since when the human body was so fragile? Adam and Eve?

Oh well, looks like she had to force more of her energy, it's Ki-Bo's execution anyway and not hers. She might as well had to live through this and move on.

"Looks like you failed your role as the Ultimate Hope, Stupid Robot. I can't believe but to feel so disappointed in you. Looks like robots can't do anything to stop this Killing Game. Boohoo!"

Ki-Bo's arms were limp, he didn't care about whatever Tsumugi spat harsh words on him. He just 'feel'...empty...a robot who supposed to move and feel like a human became a vessel on what the people who labeled about him.

A robot.

"Hahahaha!" Tsumugi cackled, "Just as I thought! The _Danganronpa_ viewers demanded more! They love Killing Games that they would die for it! Face the facts! This Killing Game will continue forever and ever! And no one, even you, will ever stop the Outside World from their entertainment! Like I told you, Ki-Bo! Hope will never win this game, no matter what! And now look at where you are, the Outside World wanted you to be executed! If only you shut yourself up, you wouldn't have to go through execution in the first place! It's... **USELESS!** "

* * *

 **Is this what you expected?**

* * *

.

.

.

"Use...less?" Ki-Bo finally gave voice from the silence.

Useless. An unkind word that was blurted out by the Mastermind, had twitched the robot to at least move for once. His head rose up into deep thought when he heard that word right from his 'ears'.

 **Useless...Useless...Useless...**

Since when did he hear such an unpleasant word? Surely it's not from the late Ultimate Supreme Leader, that boy's been flat. Okay, that's a bad joke too.

 **Useless. Useless. Useless.**

His limp arms moved up, presumably to where his 'ears' were. Ki-Bo covered them as his body language shifted from his...unsettling feeling inside his body. It's not right. He's not even functioning, so what's wrong with him?

 **Useless! Useless! Useless!**

This feeling, he couldn't explain it. Something that he never experienced this a lot from the past Class Trials ever since Kaede got falsely executed, but he knew that this is happening to him.

The game that started it all, continued to mercilessly kill all who participated in it and he was involved in being nothing but a camera.

His friends were murdered, and then they were executed.

They doubted him. Bullied him until he couldn't handle them anymore.

Ki-Bo was nothing more than a useless robot.

He tried his best to help everyone to survive from this Killing Game, but it's not enough.

And now...he's next.

This feeling...was none other than fear itself.

No matter how much he tried to hide it, he can't lie to this emotion.

"Useless...Useless...Useless..."

 **YOU. ARE. USELESS!**

He took a deep, hoarse breath, eyes widened at the realization. And released the loudest scream that he ever had that it would echo outside of the courtroom, more so that will malfunction the viewer's television speakers.

 **"HHHHNNNGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

Ki-Bo's scream made Tsumugi covered her ears from the high pitch frequency that she's hearing. Sure, the robot can raise his voice ever since he was thrown at the bloodied piranha-filled aquarium, but this scream could even give her temporary deafness. And she's lucky enough that her glasses didn't break, or she'll have to buy one after _V3_.

* * *

 **I ask you this again. Is this what you have expected in this story?**

* * *

Tsumugi glared at Ki-Bo not because of his breakdown, but because of how unusual the stupid robot reacted this way. The Ringleader predicted that the robot would react as what she expected of him since she's the one who had given many contributions to the Team. This is not the Ki-Bo whose personality would go 'Off Character' like that.

By golly, when she looked at the snapped robot, she couldn't believe that the robot she met was even Ki-Bo anymore. She thought that he's nothing more but a gullible, oblivious metal being who wanted to _(hopelessly)_ blend in with the humans and, as expected, achieved the highest title of Danganronpa as the Ultimate Hope, had broken down right before her eyes.

* * *

 **Why do you expect things too much when you already know that there are some things were meant not to go according to plan?**

* * *

 **I've tried so hard to fix this mess...and it's not enough?!**

"N-n-no...It can't be...possible...Why? Why did this happen?" The robot's hands were clawing on his 'ears', his voice sounded dry because of his scream, and his legs couldn't stay in one place as if the robot would get off balance soon.

"How could this...happen? I did everything I could to finally end this game! But why? When did I go wrong in the end?! WHEN?!" Ki-Bo asked once more, but no answer from the four as the nothingness itself came up an answer for him itself.

Silence.

The robot looked up from the television, still embroidered Ki-Bo's name on the screen. His tally marks were the highest among the candidates, it's one hundred percent that the _Danganronpa_ viewers truly wanted Ki-Bo to die.

And yet...he denied it.

 **I deny it.**

"It's a lie."

"This vote...was nothing but a lie! It's just like what you did to Kaede Akamatsu, you rigged this whole trial just to frame me and get executed! That's what you were planning all along!" Ki-Bo shouted at Tsumugi, she peered up at the 'person' who rejected his fate as the Executed. The stupid robot was getting on her nerves for being 'Out Of Character', thinking that his programming went haywire when he saw the voting results.

"Oh really?!" Tsumugi taunted, "Are there any evidence that could prove that this was a lie, Ki-Bo? Come on and bring it to me!"

"It's the - Well I...There's certainly a..." There's no such thing as Truth Bullets anymore now that the Class Trial had brought to an end minutes ago, not even a chance to get concrete evidence to prove that the voting was rigged. His hands were fidgeting vigorously, his voice stutter like an essay that had many grammatical errors, and his field of vision began to become static.

"...Well...I may not know what it was..." That stupid robot's not giving up...what's with this junk? "But I will not give up Hope until I found proof! I -!"

 **I'm losing it.**

"Ki-Bo...just shut up."

That voice. It sounds like -

"...Shuichi?" Ki-Bo looked at the fabricated Detective in a disturbance. Shuichi had been silent for too long ever since he saw Ki-Bo's name on the voting results, and the Detective finally has the voice to speak only to give something insulting to the robot.

"You know what Tsumugi said...It's useless..." His golden eyes didn't meet to the robot's cyan ones as he continued to stare down, his finger seemed to repeatedly poke on the glass screen with the faint beeping sound was heard from the echoing courtroom.

 **Shuichi...what's going on with you?**

 _Beep. Beep. Beep_

Something's not right from Shuichi, the Detective's stiff. Too stiff.

 **How could you say such words to me?**

Ki-Bo stepped down from his podium and walked to where Shuichi kept on pressing the screen, the beeping won't stop ringing to the robot's ears. By the time he got the chance to take a peek, he didn't believe what he even saw.

Upon the box selection on the voting screen was the Ultimate Hope's picture kept on blinking red on and off, and Shuichi kept on pressing the vote button again.

And again.

And again.

 **I thought we were friends.**

With such dread, the robot ran to Shuichi and snatched the Detective's arm up in the air. Even though the robot was eleven centimeters shorter than Shuichi, he tiptoed so the pointer finger won't touch the glass screen anymore. Ki-Bo looked at Shuichi's closed eyes, the robot was getting near into losing his technological mind.

"What are you doing?! Shuichi, what are you trying to do to me?!" Ki-Bo started to interrogate Shuichi, thinking that Tsumugi did rig the voting and made Shuichi vote Ki-Bo to get executed. When he looked to where the Ultimate Assasin and the Ultimate Magician were, he, too, saw the voting screens had Ki-Bo's face on the red box. The robot's mind was internally screaming; first Shuichi, and then Maki and Himiko wanted him to die.

This torture. This pain. It 'hurts' him too much.

"Why...? Why?! WHY?! How could you do this to me?! Shuichi! Maki! Himiko! How could you do this to me?!" Ki-Bo cried out loud, "Don't you remember where we are, huh?! _Danganronpa!_ We're in a killing game show! The viewers wanted us to die! They didn't care who wins or not! Didn't you remember what your friends said before they die?! Don't you remember Kaede?! Or even Tenko or Kaito?! They wanted us to stop the Mastermind! They wanted us to live and escape this school together!" The robot kept on yelling in front of Shuichi's face, whose eyes remained closed, presumably to avert the truth like what he did the last time.

"Shuichi...Look at me...Please look at me!" But Shuichi didn't open his eyes.

 **You're my friend. So, why did you do it?**

Ki-Bo pursued in getting an answer, "I thought we were friends...You taught me so many things in this school, you taught me how to love! You taught me not to avert from the truth and believe in myself! And now you just wanted to throw those memories away?! Is this what you wanted, Shuichi? You wanted this game to continue and die in this ruthless cycle of killing?! Why?!"

The silence is torturing him. He wanted to hear Shuichi's voice of rebuttal like what he did in the past Class Trials, the voice of determination of finding the truth resonated to Ki-Bo's ears. He wanted to hear them again.

"Shuichi! Answer me!"

The Detective's upraised hand unconsciously curled into a fist, ready to strike.

 **"WHY IN THE WORLD YOU CHOOSE DESPAIR OVER HOPE?!"**

The fist had been freed from Ki-Bo's weak grasp as it opened up like a wildflower in a snap, the robot could only see a fraction of a second when Shuichi's flesh palm touched his face.

And all he knew that he's on the floor, his face touched on the cold surface while trying to recount his thoughts on what happened to him. The answer was short really, Shuichi Saihara slapped Ki-Bo by the face. The force was powerful enough to topple the robot off the ground, it was hard enough to get a bleeding cut after that. A smudge of Shuichi's pink blood had stained Ki-Bo's porcelain face, almost looked like the robot had a wound. He looked at Shuichi who was towering over him like Goliath threatened David. The Detective's mouth had morphed into a disturbing smile, he raised his head and his eyes were still closed to prevent eye contact to the robot.

That abusive physical contact made Ki-Bo speechless.

 **It...hurts...**

Shuichi spoke, but his voice it's not what the robot expected from the Detective, "What about you, Ki-Bo? Why are you averting the truth? The truth that you are the final blackened of this Killing Game?"

"H-huh? ...Wh-what do you mean? I - "

"Hypocrite!"

"...!" Ki-Bo gasped, Shuichi was not the kind of person who would say that word to him!

"You think this is Hope? **WELL, I REJECT THIS STUPID HOPE!** You said that you hadn't lied, but look at yourself! On the ground, denying every single truth that you were injected at. Heck, you were the one who lied to yourself in the first place. Look at yourself, Ki-Bo. A frail, gullible robot who was desperate to live humanly as much as the others. But no matter how hard you try, no matter what you say or think, you can never deny the truth that you will never be seen as a human! ...You're just a useless hunk of junk... " Shuichi's arms were raised by his side, he still hadn't lowered his head and he acted as a twisted preacher who talked about anything. Ki-Bo couldn't stop looking at the Detective's disturbing figure, he heard Shuichi's voice echoing through his 'ears', slowly listening to what Shuichi had spat at him. No matter what he does to himself, the words have now imprinted in his mind far worse than Tsumugi's.

A useless robot.

Shuichi managed to let out a chuckle after what he said to Ki-Bo, "So...face the truth, Ki-Bo. You were voted. The _Danganronpa_ viewers wanted the Ultimate Hope to be executed and cease to exist for all eternity. It was meant to be this way. Just accept it and die..."

His head lowered and was finally given the chance to open his eyes and face at the defeated robot. When he now looked at Ki-Bo, the robot's body twitched and had the reflex to back away at Shuichi.

 _ **"Wouldn't it be Despair inducing, Ki-Bo?"**_

Shuichi's eyes were **pink**.

 **Pink** , the symbolism of Lies itself, replaced the Ultimate Detective's olive eyes.

Ki-Bo released a scream that made Tsumugi laugh from the boring drama scene she watched. If only she got popcorn, she would have enjoyed those two more!

"Ahahahaha! Would you look at that?! Looks like Despair prevails, after all! The tension, the drama, the suspense! It's all a boost up rating package for this television show! Team Danganronpa loves the excitement, the audience loves what they saw! Shuichi Saihara and Ki-Bo, friends till the end, clashed each other to the most Despair-Inducing way as possible!"

Ki-Bo tried to get up but falls from the slap that Shuichi gave to him before. He looked at Himiko and Maki, still standing on their podiums, completely nonreactive from what's going on right now. Why aren't they trying to stop Shuichi from acting like this?!

"H-H-Himiko! M-Maki! Please! ...Say something!" He looked at the girls while crawling away from Shuichi, the Detective looked like a zombie with pink eyes. They turned their heads and looked at Ki-Bo directly...

They also have the dreaded **pink** eyes.

"N-no...No...No..." The Ultimate Hope wanted to deny the Despair that he was given through his three remaining friends. Pink eyes? Who does that?!

Tsumugi Shirogane walked closely to Shuichi, she placed her seductive hand over the Detective's shoulder and her other hand over her hip. "Despair is the unknown, and it's contagious too. You wouldn't know when or where you'll have it, they just crawled over you and took your mind like a puppet on strings." she monologues as Himiko and Maki also walked near the Mastermind, their dark shadows were covering the remaining light that Ki-Bo had.

"And I can do whatever I want to them too."

* * *

 **Are you still willing to continue this?**

* * *

He had enough, the 'unconscious' reaction from his legs urged him to get up and run, run as far as he can away from the monsters that came out from their closets.

Tsumugi didn't flinch on Ki-Bo's attempt to escape the game and she snapped her fingers loud, "Seize him."

The three didn't hesitate on capturing their innocent friend, Maki was the first to chase after the robot based on her title as the Ultimate Assassin. Despite his efforts from running, Ki-Bo couldn't outrun Maki as the assassin jumped over him and blocked his path.

Ki-Bo skidded to a stop when he could see Maki attempt to perform a roundhouse kick, it's effortless to dodge when he felt the heavy force from his armored hip pushed him and caused the robot to get slammed on the wall. The impact made him lightheaded, but he didn't give in to unconsciousness.

 **This is how an assassin worked, am I right? Maki?**

He struggled to get up, but his vision went dark when Himiko covered Ki-Bo's head with her witch hat, more likely his 'ahoge' made a hole out of it. The Ultimate Magician has a tight grip on her hat and tried to pull the robot down, then her arms were wrapped around the metal collar. Ki-Bo tried to shake Himiko off but she's not letting him go, he clawed on the magician's soft hands until he managed to remove her fingers followed by her hands and escaped from Himiko's clutches.

 **Why can't you let go, Himiko?**

By the time he removed Himiko's now torn hat, he saw Shuichi tried to land a punch on him that the robot was lucky to dodge long enough for him to recover. He was ready to run again, but Shuichi grabbed his arm! Shuichi's hand gripped tight around Ki-Bo's arm as the robot tried to pull himself away from the mad detective, but it seemed like Shuichi is going to win this tug of war as he was pulling Ki-Bo closer and closer until they met their eyes.

 **Shuichi, you're hurting me! Stop!**

The detective's capability of physical showed in not a good time when he lifted Ki-Bo's body in the air and, with the use of Shuichi's shocking strength, used his own body as leverage to throw the scrawny robot to the ground. Now THAT made him knocked out for a few seconds, he's a robot, after all. No need explaining.

His vision regained focus once more, not surrendering to Despair, he pushed the floor to gain balance. But by the time he went up to his knees, both of his arms were grabbed and were tugged from behind. When he looked at the back, he saw Maki and Himiko were subduing him by pulling his arms so he wouldn't move and run away anymore.

"Himiko?! Maki?! What are you doing?! Let go! Let me go! Please!" He cried as he tried to pull his arms away, but no avail. Suddenly, a hand touched his synthetic hair and was yanked painfully, he knew that Shuichi could have done this to him.

He couldn't move. Three of his remaining friends turned against him for no reason, and now they restrained him with no chance of escaping anymore. Three pairs of radiant pink eyes were staring at him, it was intense enough to dig them deep into his data.

The Mastermind was in front of him, her hand cupped to his chin and forcing Ki-Bo to have eye contact with her despite Shuichi tugging his hair.

"You're lucky that you didn't get brainwashed unlike they did."

His turquoise eyes widened, "B...brainwashed?"

"I'm just glad that Team Danganronpa had a way to finish this episode quickly by brainwashing them instead." Tsumugi forcefully turned the robot's head to where the verdict screen was, still has Ki-Bo's name implanted on the screen. It took moments to read the air when he stared on the television.

"Looks like the low-quality brainwashing video had some perfect use after all."

The brainwashing video, was formerly used at the _End of Hope's Peak Academy_ , right under their noses all along. Once you were in the trance of the brainwashing video, you feel like your mind was scorched, your body restrained, and your eyes couldn't look away from the screen no matter how hard you try. Slowly, you're close to getting your mind burning until you fade away into existence.

 **They're...dead.**

His friends were gone all along. Their empty shells had been replaced with pure despair, and they won't stop until they get what they wanted.

And they want Ki-Bo gone for good.

"There's no Hope for you, Ki-Bo. Everyone's dead, and you're the only one left in this game. You'll always be alone...No matter what."

* * *

 **Are you still watching this?**

* * *

Tsumugi yawned, "This is getting boring."

"NO! You can't do this to me! Tsumugi!" Ki-Bo shouted as he uses his remaining strength to break himself free, but they're not letting him get away! He's losing to the battle of survival because of his Hope that caused his friends to be like this! And it's all his fault!

 **I don't want to die...**

"Thank you for being so useful to _Danganronpa_ , Ki-Bo. I loved you for that." She said in a normal voice as she looked at Monokuma, beckoning the robot bear to finally start the execution.

* * *

 **You were so close to finish this**

* * *

 **I don't want to die.**

"We would like to thank Team Danganronpa and our fans for this amazing, heart-throbbing, suspenseful journey of Hope and Despair! Now then, I have prepared a very special punishment for our beloved Ultimate Hope, Ki-Bo!" Monokuma jumped up and down in excitement as the final event of _Danganronpa V3_ has prepared.

 **I don't want to die!**

"I don't...want to...die...I don't want to die...I DON'T WANT TO DIE! NO! PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE! I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE! I BEG OF YOU! PLEASE!" The robot cried while Tsumugi felt unfazed from Ki-Bo's fear of death from the very first time. But she couldn't help but to at least feel some...hidden emotions to the poor robot.

According to Team Danganronpa, Ki-Bo is a special robot. Born from the memories of Makoto Naegi's theatrical performance of being the Ultimate Hope that fans had remembered about him. What's missing was a personality for the empty vessel, so Tsumugi helped Makoto to create the Ki-Bo that the _Danganronpa_ fans knew about him.

Sure the robot's an idiot when it comes to reading the atmosphere, but perhaps one little gesture of kindness would shut Ki-Bo up.

* * *

 **Almost there**

* * *

Her face had met Ki-Bo's, who is terrified in every second of his 'life'. Her bright blue, malevolent eyes had returned to her normal blue one. Her lips purposely touched the robot's cold forehead, like a mother kissing him goodnight whenever it's bedtime.

"I'm so proud of you." Those are her last words.

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's...PUNISHMENT TIIIIME!"

 **"DON'T LEAVE ME ALOOOOOOONE!"**

But it's all over.

The Punishment Button was raised at Monokuma's podium, the bear then pulled out the judgment hammer, performed a somersault in the air, and slammed the hammer to the button.

* * *

 **CONGRATULATIONS**

 **KI-BO HAS BEEN VOTED GUILTY**

 **TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!**

* * *

 **Author's Note (PLEASE READ):**

Once you were able to read this Author's Note (I recommend you on reading this), then you made it! Yay! You made it!

Just a clarification, 'Director Naegi' is Makoto Naegi. And the lines in the first part was the song of "St-aring Down" by VY2.

Six thousand...two hundred...and forty three words...Six thousand, two hundred and forty three words! IN THREE DAYS! Wooo! My fingers are hurt right now.

Oh my gosh, this has to be the longest chapter that I ever had in a Danganronpa fanfiction! I was so hurry because it's almost finals week in my college and I was too excited to finally start with this thing. I every single day, I actually typed estimating of 2,00 words per something like a minute or so unless I fell asleep.

So yeah, this will be the time where you can see my style of aesthetics whenever I write a fanfiction. Because, this is (or the next chapter) where the true twist will show here. I can't tell you when will the true twist will occur but you'll know it sooner or later.

I actually wanted to show more of who Team Danganronpa were and decided that the Danganronpa characters are the staff, because I want to show them early in the fanfiction instead so you won't freak out on why they acted like that in the future and cause more problems at hand. Another note was that, like in V3, the Danganronpa characters could show some opposite traits of their personality, which means that they're LITERALLY not the characters that we know in the game but there are some that I would stay faithful with. So stay tuned for that, I'm not even sure when or how I'll perform that but I'll try.

My challenge in this chapter was the characters themselves! I had a hard time on how to portray the characters that are not Ki-Bo, and it's hard for me to execute on how they react within a situation they were in. I think it somehow diminished once Shuichi, Himiko, and Maki got brainwashed.

 **Like I said, I somehow wrote this chapter BEFORE the event where Ki-Bo will be executed was because I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO GET HEART ATTACKS because of me. I'm just worried about the people who read this and well, who knows what will happen to them after reading this chapter.**

One reviewer asked me on what's worse to the remaining characters, so I hope this will serve as an answer.

Until then, stay tuned.


	4. Mi Ultimo Adios

**Warning:**  
 **This story is contained with spoilers from Danganronpa V3. If you have not watched it, move away now.**

 **A "Secret Ending" will be written at the end of this chapter.**

 **Appearances/Mentions of Team Danganronpa (As of Chapter 3):**

 **Izuru Kamakura - Founder**

 **Makoto Naegi - Director**

 **Hajime Hinata - Second Unit Director**

 **Juzo Sakakura - Head Security**

 **Kyosuke Munakata - Actor**

 **Chisa Yukizome - Actress**

 **Kazuichi Soda - Construction Team Head**

 **Kiyotaka Ishimaru - Security**

 **Mondo Owada - Security**

 **Mahiru Koizumi - Camera**

 **Ryota Mitarai - Editor (Retired)**

 **/**

PS: Longest. Execution. EVER!

* * *

 ** _BREAKING NEWS!  
_**

* * *

 **Team Danganronpa's Hope Execution**

* * *

 **Team Danganronpa commences its first ever Hope Execution in the entire _Danganronpa_ History**

* * *

 **Ki-Bo fans fires in rage**

* * *

 **Protesters riot over Ki-Bo's Execution**

* * *

 _"KI-BO'S GETTING EXECUTED?!"_

 _"Just what the heck are they doing?!"_

 _"Don't execute him!"_

 _"That voting was rigged!"_

 _"Ki-Bo did nothing wrong!"_

 _"What kind of show is this?!"_

 _"Free Ki-Bo this instant!"  
_

 _"V3 sucks!"_

 _"Bust the robot out or we'll bust the robot out!_

 _"Team Danganronpa should rot in Hell!"_

 _"Some entertainment you are, THIS IS NOT ENTERTAINMENT!"_

 _"UGH! I just want to stab that woman for killing Ki-Bo!"_

 _"Why did you brainwash them! That's not fair!"_

 _"You brainwash our Magic Daughter, you die, fool!"_

 _"Good riddance to that crybaby Detective, BUT DOES HE HAVE TO SLAP THE ROBOT?!"_

 _"I wish Maki got executed instead. What a coward."_

 _"Our Robot Son's gonna die! How dare you?!"_

 _"He's innocent! This is cruelty to society!"_

Wow. They did NOT take the verdict as well as I had expected them to. Well, for some to be exact, especially the fans of the robot who thought that Ki-Bo was too innocent to get executed in the harshest way as possible. And then comes the doggone protesters demanding that Ki-Bo should be released at once, nothing but hypocrites I'd say. He's a robot, how can those advocates have sympathy for someone who isn't human in the first place?!

Humans can be so confusing and I don't like confusing. Believe me, they're so complicated that I couldn't even stand it! Decision-wise, to be exact.

In Life, we have Choice Number 1 and Choice Number 2. When it comes to humans, everything is a mess in their lives. Everything! We all have those I know, and I can be a _(stupid)_ hypocrite, but I just can't handle it.

Anyways, once upon a time, there was a human that was given two choices; Choice Number 1 and Choice Number 2. The human picked Choice Number 2 and live on whatever the heck he was doing, but then a spark from our brain sent a signal to the human on what would happen when he picked Choice Number 1. And so the human went back and chose Choice Number 1 and live on, but then he slowly had regrets that he should have stayed with Choice Number 2! For goodness sakes, why can't you choose and stay with that anyway?!

See? Humans can be confusing, nonetheless to be annoying also.

Remember when Hajime said about Juzo, Taka, and Mondo's security team being outside? Well, they're handling the ones who were about to stop the execution from happening. They're a tough crowd, literally! I could see the live news on a television screen broadcasted about the people from the outside, what surprised me the most was that the number of people was somehow extravagant to look at based on the statistics of the news coverage.

"What a riot." Words spurt from my mouth as a response to what I saw.

The robot was a worldwide favorite among the fans aside from Shuichi or Kokichi, he was technically the last person 'alive' in the Killing Game. Sure, Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko were still there breathing. But it's not them anymore, the brainwashing video 'killed' what remains of their humanity until they became empty shells of their character they're portraying. While _(that idiot)_ Tsumugi is the Ringleader of the game, so she doesn't count.

Hajime was at the table with his phone sitting on his ears while flipping some stacks of paper on what seemed to be our script, he was doing his job in short. My friend handles on some parts of the show, supervising on whatever follows the original script.

While I, Makoto Naegi just in case you knew me by my surname, handle the aesthetics, the plot script, and the 'actors' _(aka our characters in the game)_ in the show. Hajime Hinata, the Second Unit Director, was the one who handles the construction, the tech, and the performance.

"Yeah...is it set? ...alright then...what about the people from the outside? ...got it...right...we'll keep an eye on the process...I'm gonna message Chihiro now, bye." Hajime set the phone off and picked up the show's script, he then turned to his laptop and activated his e-mail with the name 'Chihiro Fujisaki' in sending. He typed fast on the keyboard and pressed the send button.

* * *

 _To: Chihiro Fujisaki_

 _From: Hajime Hinata  
_

 _"Chihiro, are you okay out there? It's almost Punishment Time."_

 _..._

 _Chihiro: "Yes, Mr. Hinata. I got some backup plans just in case. I'll be there as soon as I get there...hopefully..."_

 _Hajime: "Sorry about the elevator jammed there, just use the stairs for the time being."  
_

* * *

After that, Hajime reviewed the script once more, I decided not to disturb him for a while since he's the one who handles the big jobs.

I was pacing in the room back and forth, the adrenaline of Despair started to kick inside of me that I couldn't stop thinking that something will screw up in the end and I cannot allow that to happen.

...

Then, the sound of footsteps were echoing in the control room. It's creepy considering that it's just me and Hajime, the rest were doing their jobs outside of the control room. So who would it be at this hour?

"My, my, you know panicking won't help at all. You should get your Hopes up, Mr. Director."

Oh my god. That voice, it sounds familiar.

I turned around to see a young woman, the one I could at least smile when I saw her. Despite wearing her ordinary casual suit, her voice and her face still don't hide on who she is.

"Don't worry, I got caffeine in me. I'm not gonna fall for some fictional Despair of yours, **Junko Enoshima**." Those two names I uttered, gave me a brute force from the stomach. Her battle cry was loud enough to make Hajime jump from his seat just to see what happened to me, at least it gave me a reminder of how powerful her kick was ever since she gave an example _(even though it's a 'weak kick')_ to Mikan Tsumiki, a former actress who was now working in a medical team in Team Danganronpa.

"IDIOT! Just how many times I have to tell you this? It's **Ryoko Otonashi**! Ry-oko Oto-nashi!" Junko-, I mean  Ryoko Otonashi yelled at me while I remained face flat on the floor. Geez, I know that, but I was just playing with her.

Okay, so you thought it's going to be Kyoko Kirigiri, the Ex-Ultimate Detective, right? Wrong and I'm sorry to disappoint you, she's not here. I'll just give you a story about how Ryoko instead.

Ryoko Otonashi, stage name 'Junko Enoshima', is a friend of mine when we met in the casting for the first season of _Danganronpa_. I was a small boy back then when I became the protagonist in _Trigger Happy Havoc_ , and Ryoko became the antagonist as the Ex-Ultimate Despair. Ryoko's a popular girl and a veteran actress, she's also a friend of mine. Ryoko was the one who helped me in acting when I was having a hard time in portraying my character on set. And right now, she's the Head Editor of Team Danganronpa.

Yep, she along with the Ex-Ultimate Animator were the ones who brainwashed Shuichi Saihara, Himiko Yumeno, and Maki Harukawa in the finale.

"Sorry. I was just playing with you, Ryoko." I replied while wiping the blood on my mouth, I kept on forgetting that Mikan also got hurt pretty bad despite Ryoko toned her power kick down.

Ryoko smirked while twirling a lock of her hair, it's still strawberry blonde when she dyed her old red hair in _Trigger Happy Havoc_ and probably not going to re-dye it _(ever)_ again because she said that it'll damage her hair. She looked at Hajime, who is also a friend of hers when he became _(more like he had no choice since the producers were begging him)_ Izuru Kamakura, _Goodbye Despair_ 's Ultimate Hope. The two were working together like..they're literally working, it's part of their job. Though Ryoko was on the carefree side while trying to cheer Hajime up, that guy appreciated it despite he's not saying a word.

From the silence, she reached out her arm towards Hajime, who was looking at the script for the hundredth time. Her finger flicked at Hajime's head that made him jump in surprise on whoever did that to him, "Hello there, Ms. Otonashi." Hajime greeted in a monotone voice with a snarky poker face.

"Oh come on, Hajime! Aren't you excited?" Her arm wrapped around Hajime's neck, the man rolled his eyes though he had a smile slowly creeping up on his lips yet he tried to control his emotions.

"Excited for what? Getting involved in a riot because we're going to execute the robot according to the statistics of the fans?" He asked sarcastically as he looked at a helmet laying on the table, "Seriously, I don't want to get my back stomped on by fanboys just because we killed our 'Plan A Protagonist'."

Ryoko rolled her eyes because Hajime's essentially a worrywart, "You worried a lot, even if you weren't that Pokezuru Facakura anymore."

'Pokezuru Facakura' was somehow a low-quality nickname she gave to Hajime when he played Izuru, a combination of Izuru Kamakura and Poker Face, just because he's good at doing the Poker Face during the set. As a result, Hajime replied "Can you not call me that nickname?! It's embarrassing..."

Changing the subject, Ryoko looked at a television screen that broadcasted about Ki-Bo's execution.

Outside, you could see a large contraption consisted of a conveyor belt with revolving mechanical gears and the metal block that almost crushed me last time. Tsumugi did say that 'shouting out' my old execution was a good way to spread Despair to some fans if ever Ki-Bo gets executed, and it looks like it was about time too. Surrounding the large contraption were people, tons of them to see how many they were. They're different unlike the protesters who tried to barge in, good thing Juzo was there to stop them from getting in.

Just like that Hajime said, the cameras were placed on a good angle that the audience at home, along with us, could see properly on where the crowd wouldn't block them. Of course, those crowds were different compared to the people who wanted to cause a riot. They just wanted to see _V3_ 's Ultimate Hope to be executed in the worst ways possible. It's like they said, this was the first ever execution to ever happened to an Ultimate Hope.

Ryoko does have some questions in her mind, "Say Makoto, isn't that your execution before? The _After School Lesson_ execution?"

"Yeah." I answered, "Why'd you ask?"

"It seems...redundant."

"That reminds me..." Hajime read on a certain page of the script, "Makoto, this page says _'the execution will be based on the historical executions that happened in the...Philippines'._ Am I correct in reading this script?"

"So, you mean the Hope Robot's execution will be executed in that manner? Like the firing squad or the garrote?"

"Firing squad, garrote, Antonio Luna's assassination...and the like except the modern ones. But I still have some little tweaks from the old ones, **if you know what I mean**." I answered while counting through my fingers when I was trying to remember how I plotted Ki-Bo's execution. Hajime responded with a growl and rolling eyes, he's the only one who understood what I mean to say about the 'old ones'.

Based on the research I read, the executions that happened in that country were mostly remembered by the younger generations because the people who were executed there were known for something. Not only that, their executions connect the dots on the events that happened there. It's like one execution sparked an event that causes the one who causes the event to get executed that sparked another event that causes the one who caused the event to get executed that sparked another event...It's a very long story...

See the large machine outside? Another thing about those historical executions that are different from the executions that happened in the show, they happened from the outside, in front of a crowd just to see the Despair of Humiliation and Death to the one who will get executed.

That's right and I think you heard it from Ryoko, that contraption belonged to Ki-Bo's.

Ki-Bo's execution will happen live from the Outside World itself.

The location? Team Danganronpa.

The first ever execution in _Danganronpa_ history will happen in public, where all of the people from the Outside World can see it before their very eyes. Just as Tsumugi said; if Ki-Bo was the Eye of the Audience, then we can use him to spread Despair to the whole world!

We finally get this to happen... For many seasons we gave the participants of every Danganronpa to choose either Hope or Despair. And it's always the same thing ever since _Trigger Happy Havoc_ , they pick Hope. Junko, the representative of Despair _(for every season of Danganronpa)_ gets executed.

In _Goodbye Despair_ , despite Hajime and the remaining casts in the finale picked both Hope and Despair, the ending was more hopeful than I imagined, unlike the first season.

To be honest, I felt really bad about Ryoko had to play as Junko for many times in a row. She felt like the world revolves around Junko's antics and Ryoko only gets a good spotlight as herself in _Zero_ , but it's only for a short time before she became Junko again. Not only that, it felt like Junko was recognized as a charismatic and enthusiastic mastermind, while Ryoko was nothing more but a forgetful analyst who was obsessed over Yasuke Matsuda _(which she isn't in real life)._

Now with that out of the way, Despair gets to be picked finally and we can finally see Hope to get executed! Isn't that exciting?

...

"I'm so sorry I was late!"

I turned around for the hundredth time and saw a young boy with formal clothing and carries a green laptop, he was also breathing heavily non-stop with beads of sweat coming out from his forehead.

He is Team Danganronpa's System Administrator, Chihiro Fujisaki.

"I...tried my best...to get in here...as fast as I could..." Our System Administrator said in between heavy breaths, almost as if he's about to pass out from dehydration. Fortunately, Hajime got an emergency water bottle and gave it to the thirsty Chihiro.

"We really need to fix that elevator," Hajime remarked about the elevator that went out of order for some reason that I don't have to care about.

Ryoko wiped her forehead, which she does have some evidence that she was sweating also, "Whose idea to delay that in the first place? Even I was having a hard time using the stairs."

Chihiro drank the water with big gulps until the liquid reached halfway, he must have been very thirsty from climbing up the stairs. Satisfied, he placed the laptop on a specific desk near the control panel at a hasty pace. He knows his job, and it's crucial now that it's almost the finale.

I was staring at the television screen showing Ki-Bo attempted to run away from Tsumugi, more likely to rebel and ruin the show, but it seems that our _(stupid)_ 'Executive Producer' had under control of the situation. She even used the trio who got brainwashed just to capture the robot, he technically doesn't stand the chance to even fight because of his...physical strength.

Ryoko also noticed me watching on the screen. She took an observation on the events that were happening inside the _Danganronpa_ set right now, though she does have some interest to the characters who got pink eyes.

"So...it worked?" Ryoko asked me without taking her eyes off the screen.

"Yep," I answered, knowing that she was talking about the brainwashing video.

Ryoko scratched the back of her neck, "You know, that robot's a fighter there. Must have taken by surprise because of the brainwashing video."

"He denies the fact that he had a Game Over because of that fatal twist."

"Poor guy. He couldn't catch a break or two from all of this." She sighed, even her voice shows concerns about the Ki-Bo.

I furrowed my eyebrows, "He's just a robot. Nothing else. Ki-Bo deserved this punishment. He rebelled against his superiors and the truth, so this is what I'm going to give to him."

Ryoko looked at me like a mother was about to get ticked at their rebel child. She doesn't like that response, which is one of the reasons why I sometimes like Junko. Her apathy doesn't give me stress unlike Ryoko's empathy to the characters in every _Danganronpa_ shows being released, fiction can be a jerk at times like this and I don't like it.

Meanwhile, Chihiro typed on his keyboard as fast as he could, the sound of the tapping gives some sound aside from the silence from the room. His eyes were glued to the screen that had texts appearing within the blink of an eye, and he's not stopping until he could finish on what he's programming.

"There! All set up and ready to go!" Chihiro spoke while plugging a cord onto his laptop

Hajime nodded in affirmation, "And about time too."

Ryoko sighed, she was still staring at the screen where Ki-Bo got captured by the brainwashed _(fake)_ Ultimates, but I couldn't read on what she's thinking right now. She just looked at me and said, "Well, Makoto. It's your turn now."

I could only shrug as a response, all I could care about was finishing this episode and move on.

I grabbed a nearby headset and wear it on my head, then I fixed the microphone and took a deep breath.

 **"EXECUTION BEGINS IN 30 SECONDS"**

I said through the microphone out loud, it signifies that the robot's execution will start soon. The headset that I'm wearing communicates to all of the people who worked in Team Danganronpa and the ones who participated for the final execution today, I am telling this announcement to all teams.

 **"SECURITY TEAM, READY?"**

I could hear the struggling 'Ready' from Juzo. He must have been working on stopping the intruders from getting inside the execution place.

 **"CONSTRUCTION TEAM, READY?"**

It sounds like a muffling sound, but I can hear Kazuichi's voice along with the familiar and scary noises of the metal block pounding.

 **"TECH TEAM, READY?"**

So far, I could hear Mahiru who, I presumed, on standby to where she wouldn't get pushed around by the _Danganronpa_ audiences on the ground.

 **"MEDICAL TEAM, READY?"**

Mikan's scream made me worried a little.

 **"OPEN THE GATES! EXECUTION STARTS IN 10 SECONDS!"**

I can hear the _Danganronpa_ audiences counting down from the outside and their homes. It's time.

 **9**

 **8**

 **7**

 **6**

 **5**

 **4**

 **3**

 **2**

 **1**

 **"Let's give it everything we got!** " I shouted as if I'm the Mastermind of the game.

* * *

 **IT'S...PUNISHMENT TIIIIME!**

* * *

 **"DON'T LEAVE ME ALOOOOOOONE!"** Ki-Bo released one last cry. A cry that he hoped that he could reach out to someone and save him from this nightmare.

But it's too late for that.

It's all over.

It's the end for him as the Punishment Button was raised at Monokuma's podium, the bear then pulled out the judgment hammer, performed a somersault in the air, and slammed the hammer to the button.

* * *

 **CONGRATULATIONS**

 **KI-BO HAS BEEN VOTED GUILTY**

 **TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!**

* * *

Ki-Bo's execution begins as the mechanical gears on Monokuma's throne that was formerly used to activate the Scrum Debates was used once more as the monochrome bear pulled out his key and inserted to the keyhole that Monokuma's red eye illuminating on the gear, the familiar blue light crept over the podiums just like when the gravity propellers activated to line up the debaters. But this is different now, there's no Scrum Debate anymore.

The once bright blue light has transformed into a new color, a color of Despair itself.

 **Red**

The gravity propelled podiums also got their color turned into red along with the white linings on the floor were now covered with the despairing red color. All of the podiums had morphed into a seemingly disturbing fence, save for one podium that Ki-Bo once stepped on as his podium lost all of its lights, turning the color from blue into black.

That podium had no use as the energy that Monokuma had activated overload its power until it exploded before the eyes of the Ultimate Hope and the meaning itself was simple, he's executed and there's no purpose for having a Death Portrait unlike the other deceased students of the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles. Therefore, there is one space beside the three and Ki-Bo was where his podium was supposed to be when it disintegrated.

The robot was still restrained by his former friends as Tsumugi stepped back from the aligned podiums, she must have known that the execution started in this courtroom and she doesn't want to get involved. She looked at the screen that had the Brainwashing video that was disguised by the voting results turned static and it was replaced by words that were light up by the color red.

* * *

 **On Air**

* * *

Ki-Bo felt a small movement coming from the floor, but it wasn't an earthquake. He turned his head to see the courtroom's floor was moving by itself, the circular linings were sliding away from the middle until it completely opened. Who knew that this courtroom even had trap doors that were right under their noses before. Amazing, no? Unfortunately, this is where the robot thinks that he was about to get thrown to the abyss.

The robot shows an expression of fear as he attempted to break free from the clutches of the brainwashed students, and it seemed that he was succeeding. His arms were finally released as he sprang up from his feet in an attempt to escape his execution, Tsumugi and the others didn't even bother to chase him...as the streams of chains emerged from the chasms.

Despite his efforts to escape the chains that were chasing him, its shackles were able to bind his legs, arms, waist, feet, and wrists altogether. Ki-Bo then felt a strong pull that dragged him towards the dark hatch, his arms even tried to reach out even though he knew it's futile now that the three pairs of pink eyes and one pair of blue eyes were staring below him as the darkness had finally swallowed him.

He felt like he was falling to a deep realm until the hard impact from the ground stops him from falling, and it was painful too. Just as he got the sense to rise, the chains were restraining him from even moving. His arms were bound from the sides while his feet were bound together, almost looked like as if he was literally crucified on the ground.

It seems dark at first, apart from the small light coming from above, almost acting as a spotlight that was directed at him while he was bound.

Then, a flash of light came all around the abyss that made Ki-Bo want to cover his eyes from the brightness if his arms weren't shackled. From what he saw, the chasm wasn't a place that was filled with stalagmites and stalactites. Even the 'ground' wasn't even ground at all, more like a rusty looking metallic floor.

There were screens that were activated in every angle, what kind of a place that has television screens below a trap door?

The static effect from the screen faded, revealing a man appeared to be wearing formal clothes and he has green eyes and brown hair with a large chunk of it sticking out in the air.

For some reason, the man almost looked like him.

"Hello there, Ki-Bo." The man spoke with a faint smile creeping on to his lips, "We've been waiting for you."

Ki-Bo was having a hard time speaking from all the shock he's experiencing right now. First the execution, and now this? Or maybe this was part of the execution and he wasn't aware of it?

"...Wh...Wh-who...Who are...you?" The robot spoke with a shaky voice. He tried to move, but the bindings were too strong.

The man lowers his eye at him, "My name would not matter in this situation you are having right now. But what matters is that you, the new titleholder as the Ultimate Hope, will be participating in this final execution."

Even though the answer was indirect, the robot got a conclusion that the man he's talking to right now was an enemy that he, Shuichi, and the others were fighting from.

"You! ...You're the person from Team Danganronpa!" Ki-Bo shouted at the screen. In every angle, it seemed that the man was trying to intimidate him. So, this is what a person from Team Danganronpa looked like. They may look like human on the outside, but their motives and true colors on the inside were inhumane. Ki-Bo remembered how many seasons this _Danganronpa_ show caused to hurt people and spreading Despair through his own eyes. He will never forgive the people who were the perpetrators in killing dozens of people within the Killing Game itself, and he will never forgive the person on who he's speaking to right now. Still having the courage to taunt him in the end, it disgusts him.

"Well, what are you gonna do to me? Huh? Would you still use your stupid platitudes to break those chains that bind you? Heh! You couldn't even lift a manhole because of how weak you were! How pathetic." The man smirked at Ki-Bo, the robot couldn't believe that he was created by them. How disgraceful.

The robot glared at the man who caused all of this trouble, "What are you going to do next? Are you still going to execute me?" he asked.

Much to Ki-Bo's agitation and nervousness, the man grinned at him.

"Of course, I still want to execute you! It's just...it's better to have some chit chat to our Ultimate Hope before you get dismantled. Besides that, I just don't want YOU to reach out and cause any signs of rebellion to THEM."

Ki-Bo's eyes widened from what he just heard about 'them', "...T-th-them?!"

"You didn't think that your execution would be private, did you?"

He then felt something that was rising below him, and he could hear mechanical sounds roaring either. He realized that the metallic floor he was laying on was reclining until the 'floor' reached a ninety-degree angle, the robot felt like he was pinned on a frame.

"To be honest, your talent is actually powerful." The man continued, "A robot like you were able to give Hope towards the _Danganronpa_ audiences within a fraction of a second, unlike the previous ones. Because of that, you might even start a rebellion against us by controlling them by your words and we are not allowing that to happen." The man pulled out a small controller from his hand and pressed the only button implanted on it.

At the press of the button, the place was rumbling as the bright light casts a looming shadow to the metal slab that he was restrained in from behind.

Ki-Bo couldn't see whatever was behind him, but he could see a fading reflection from the screen. The reflection looked like the wall appeared to have an open hole on it, but then again this wasn't a cave.

So...

"Where am I?!" Ki-Bo yelped. The man had claimed that his execution wasn't 'private' unlike the ones that happened to his deceased friends, and the opposite of 'private' is 'public'!

Which means -

 **"Ladies and Gentleman, may I present to you _Danganronpa V3_ 's Ultimate Hope! Ki-Bo!"**

The next thing Ki-Bo knew, he could hear voices. Cheering? Or a hoard of applause, perhaps? Even the man on the screen wasn't looking at him when he announced the robot's name, so he was looking at someone else. But who?

The man looked at the trapped robot one last time, his eyes were staring at his bounded figure, making sure that Ki-Bo doesn't do anything stupid against his execution. The man smiled, but his smile wasn't anything true.

"Welcome to the Outside World, Ultimate Hope. I hope you'll make the audience entertained. Enjoy your punishment!" The man mocked Ki-Bo as he waved goodbye to the robot and the screen was finally switched off into darkness.

Then suddenly, the contraption that he was strapped on moved. He could see that everything went backwards as the floor 'pushes' him to the open light of the so-called 'The Outside World', and he could still hear the voices that he knew that it didn't come from his head anymore.

 _"There he is!"_

 _"It's that stupid robot!"_

 _"Come on! Let's kill him!"_

He never felt so humiliated in his entire life because of the harsh voices were said directly at him. But then again, it's his execution after all. And it's all part of giving him Despair until he dies.

* * *

 **Mi Ultimo Adios**

 **Ultimate Hope Ki-Bo's Execution: Executed**

* * *

He could hear them getting louder and louder.

The next thing he knew, the light was getting brighter and brighter...Until it faded into the dark red that he could see from the sky, the despairing sky of the Outside World.

Right in front of him was a dark gate surrounded by the cemented wall was formerly known as the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles, he never knew that the other side of the phony school was the Outside World itself, and he never knew that everything he saw was nothing but a studio. No dome, no sky, just illusions.

 **So this is what the Outside World looks like...**

Ki-Bo was still moving backwards by what he realized that he was in a conveyor belt all along, but what was surrounding the robot was what made him scared.

There were people, legitimate humans with flesh and blood. And they were staring at him like he was a sinner, they were even carrying random objects on their two hands. Tomatoes, eggs, or even more blunt like stones and soda cans along with sharp objects like knives.

The robot didn't even bother to make a move, who knows that the humans were actually part of his execution.

Everything went fast when something blocked his vision, it was yellow and sticky. An egg that was thrown by a human had started following events of the execution, the people are now throwing objects at the robot as well as yelling anything unpleasant to him.

 _"You're a failure!"_

 _"Stupid hypocrite!"_

 _"Murderer!"_

 _"You're not human! You're just a robot!"_

 _"Some Ultimate Hope you are!"_

 _"You should get dismantled!"_

 _"Everything's all your fault! I want you dead!"_

Ki-Bo tried his best to dodge anything that was hurtling towards him, but it continued to stain his synthetic body. It was like the _Danganronpa_ audiences were making a painting by using the robot as a canvas, and they were ecstatic about it when they're dirtying the Ultimate Hope, treating him nothing but an object.

 **Is this what the humans really are? Nothing but malicious and vile creatures?**

But from the midst of the execution, four familiar figures were standing right in front of him from afar.

 **Could it be?**

 **...My friends!**

He could see the faces of his remaining friends; Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko, along with the ringleader Tsumugi right behind them. But what are they doing here? Did they not know that they'll get hit by the people from the Outside World? Or were they present just to mock Ki-Bo? It doesn't matter for him, all he wanted was to use his Ultimate talent just to reach them out and finally snap the three out of their brainwashing. This is his Hope, and he won't stop until he would be able to wake Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko up.

 **This is my only chance! I have to wake them up! I have to free my friends from Despair!**

With his newfound strength, Ki-Bo began to pull himself away from the shackles. Thankfully, or coincidentally, the chains loosen and brought Ki-Bo down to the conveyor belt. This made the humans even angrier. Looks like it's not his day.

 _"He's getting away!"_

 _"Just kill him already!"_

The humans were even more volatile, they had the guts to throw hard objects at him. He had to duck when a heavy stone almost hit him by the face or even the sharp knives that almost lacerate his armor. But all he cared about was to save the students that were brainwashed by Team Danganronpa, and that's what he believes in what he should do.

The shackles may still get ahold him, but Ki-Bo started to yank the chains and began to walk from this tug-of-war. His mouth was opened and let his brainwashed friends hear his voice.

"Shui...chi? M-Maki? H...Himiko? Can you all...hear me?" Ki-Bo spoke, "Please! Hear my voice! You have been brainwashed by Team Danganronpa, and I am going to save you all through my talent!"

 _"That robot still got his hopes up!"  
_

 _"How stupid can this hunk of junk be?"_

He ignored that voices that attempted to pull him down, and in a literal sense that the chains were trying to yank him back.

"Himiko! Remember who you are! The Ultimate Magician, no, the Ultimate Mage! How can the Ultimate Mage show her magic if you're standing in the open? People thought of you as lazy and vulnerable, you were always get accused of being a murderer, but you believed that you're not! Tenko… Tenko reached you out! Don't you remember what she said to you? She wants you to be free! She wants you to be free to express how you feel without any restrictions nor excuses! It's okay to be angry or to laugh or to cry! Because that's who you are, Himiko! A real human!"

Ki-Bo didn't notice that he stepped on a banana peel, he was slipped and got his face almost slammed to the track until the chains pulled the robot. He clawed on the floor just to stop himself from getting dragged, Ki-Bo could see that the floor was messed up when the humans were still throwing things at him even when he walked.

It was bad to see Himiko didn't hear his voice, either she doesn't have enough MP to wake up anymore or she's truly dead.

"Maki, please wake up! I know you can hear my voice, so I beg you to listen to me! You've been through harsh times, everyone was afraid of you as an assassin, even me! You said that you don't have any choice, but that doesn't mean that you give up easily! You have to remember Kaito! He was the first one who reached out to you! He didn't treat you like a criminal! He gave you a nickname because he knows that under your cold heart, there's still humanity inside you! He even sacrificed his own life just to save you from getting executed! Don't let his sacrifice be in vain for this, Maki!"

Maki's eyes were still pink, which means that the Ultimate Assassin wasn't able to hear him either. The man did say that Ki-Bo's talent was powerful enough to cause a rebellion against Team Danganronpa, so why didn't it work? This led to the robot feeling depressed that he wasn't able to reach out to Himiko and Maki through his talent as the Ultimate Hope, it must have been a lie after all.

While the robot was still standing, some _(idiotic)_ human pulled out on what it seems to be a shotgun, locked and loaded at the chained Ultimate Hope! The human smirked as he pulled the trigger of the shotgun, the sound of a loud **BANG** echoed throughout the execution site.

Not only the sound alarmed Ki-Bo...

But the excruciating pain that the shotgun bullet had inflicted on his left arm.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

A puddle of blue fluid painted the floor of the moving conveyor belt, the source came from the bursting of Ki-Bo's arm. The shackle that held his arm was now replaced with sparks and wires had erupted to the gaping hole in his arm, this was what the robot's blood looked like.

Ki-Bo was kneeling on the floor, his uninjured arm was holding to the other one in pain. Not only he was resisting getting pulled in by the chains but trying to control the pain that was given by whoever shot him in the first place. But no matter how hard he bit his lip, the 'wound' really hurts like he never felt before in his entire life!

"It hurts...It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!" He whispered from the raging noise from the humans, which he could see that there was a riot.

Some humans were hurting other humans also. Some of them tried to stop the humans from throwing stones at the robot, even the human that shot Ki-Bo was subdued. It's confusing that they were supposed to hurt him in the first place and not each other. Not only that, the harsh voices turned into benevolent cheers.

 _"Hey! Don't give up!"_

 _"Don't listen to what they said about you being a failure!"_

 _"You're the Ultimate Hope, Ki-Bo! Don't lose hope!"_

He stared at the puddle of his own 'blood', and then he looked up to see his friends still looking down at him. They never moved or even spoke a word, not even Tsumugi who was supposed to taunt him remained silent and still like a mannequin. He wanted to listen to the sympathetic voices who encouraged him not to lose his hope and regain his freedom, but all he cared about was his friends. Especially Shuichi Saihara, perhaps he could hear Ki-Bo's voice.

"...S...Shu...Shui...chi...Shuichi! I...know you're in there somewhere! ...I just have to...persuade you more!" Ki-Bo carefully stood up and not to get slipped from the liquid that came out from his 'injury', he winced as the remaining chain on his wrist was giving his broken arm pain. He had to keep moving, for Shuichi's sake.

"Shuichi...? Can you remember your friends? The ones who helped you to live even when they're gone? ...Kaede...You have to remember Kaede! She was the one who befriended you before! She taught you that you should never avert the truth anymore no matter how painful it was! She wanted you to live and end this game so all of us could escape!"

The phony detective blinked, it's a sign. A sign of Hope, and pursues Ki-Bo to speak towards Shuichi more. He was close, almost there to even reach his free arm out weakly.

"Do you remember the one who hurt you before? Kaito Momota? You said that you and Kaito were always training to be strong! He helped you to be courageous to find the truth in the trials! I know everything that happened to you was a lie. Your life, your friends, even everything you fought for! And yet...you still hadn't given up in seeking the truth..."

Out of Shuichi's brainwashed consciousness, he took several steps forward and reached his own hand to Ki-Bo's.

The robot's stained hand was finally able to touch Shuichi's flesh one, Ki-Bo clutched the detective's hand even though it was weak.

"It's still...warm...And it makes my heart feel very calm...Do you remember that, Shuichi?" Ki-Bo looked at Shuichi with a gentle smile despite the detective was still brainwashed, but he knew that Shuichi was still in there and it gave him hope that his friend was able to respond to the Ultimate Hope's voice. With the response being safe, Ki-Bo proceeded in placing his other hand on top of Shuichi's, even though it hurts to even move his injured arm though.

"Whenever I have that strange feeling inside me, the only person I could think about was you. You were kind to me, you didn't discriminate me as inhuman, and I looked up to you because you helped people...I'm so sorry that you went through on what Team Danganronpa had done to you...and everyone else who played this corrupted game!"

His hands gripped tight.

"And that's why I want to save you as much as I can, I want to give you hope to wake up from this nightmare! Shuichi...If you could hear me, please respond! I know that you're still alive! Please! Wake up!"

Ki-Bo's shoulders were up and down, he tried his best to speak to the brainwashed Shuichi Saihara. He 'hoped' that his voice will give the last chance to reach out to his friends, even if it's just one as long as he could save someone from the manipulation.

Shuichi gasped from Ki-Bo's struggling words, he blinked when he tried to understand what the robot was saying word per word. His free hand twitched, and it lifted slowly until it could reach the robot's synthetic face. It was warm and it wasn't cold, Ki-Bo didn't respond to the touch and just waited for Shuichi to be himself again.

But the robot didn't notice Shuichi's hand went up to his hair...and did the same thing as what happened at the courtroom before.

The crowd was even surprised that Ki-Bo was being abused by Shuichi, even fuming up with rage.

Ki-Bo was surprised and also in pain that Shuichi yanked his hair that he was even lifted inches off the floor! He reached the hand that grabbed his hair and tried to claw them out, but it was futile! Shuichi was playing Ki-Bo all along! He tricked Ki-Bo's feelings just to hurt him!

"Aaargh! Let me go! Shuichi, it hurts!" Ki-Bo begged, but the detective released a harsh chuckle.

"Fool! You think that punny Saihara would be alive watching you get killed? No!" Not-Shuichi gripped the robot's hair even tighter, "You're still denying that you're friends are dead! How long could you keep up with this nonsense? Why don't you get it, you stupid robot?"

Ki-Bo couldn't respond, he whimpered from both the physical and emotional pain that Not-Shuichi had given to him. Not-Shuichi yanked the robot close until he could reach Ki-Bo's 'headphone ears', and the strength was unimaginable considering he lifted Ki-Bo with one hand.

"Now let me say this to you one last time, and you better put it on your stupid brain."

Not-Shuichi whispered.

Ki-Bo did gather every word that the phony detective had said to him. And he will never forget them, either.

"No matter how much you tried to save your nonexistent friends, no matter how much you want to change this story, no matter how much you wished for a happy ending...Just accept it... **You'll always be alone.** "

Ki-Bo's hands fell limp as the vile words that his former friend had said to him were now implanted to his memory. Permanently.

"Do you understand, Ki-Bo?"

"Yes..."

"Good boy."

The chains had stiffened, and Shuichi let go of Ki-Bo's hair. The robot didn't bother to even fight the chains anymore as he let himself get pulled, his own body got slammed to the stained slab and the shackles were now holding in place once more. Ki-Bo didn't even move anymore, he was...limp. The words that Not-Shuichi had said to him hurt, he doesn't know what to 'feel' anymore but sadness.

It was loud. And everything rumbles whenever he heard that sound, but the problem that he doesn't know what it was. That's until the metal slab lowered unexpectedly when it slams on the track of the conveyor belt, he was finally given the chance to see whatever was behind him, but he didn't expect that the sight could scare him.

At the end of the conveyor belt, was a large block that slams on the conveyor belt within seconds in the way, it was a compactor. He could see that it was run by mechanical gear as they rotate just to make the blunt guillotine work its job.

The voices made him wince. It pains him to hear them in conflict, some want him dead and some want him to live.

 _"He's gonna get crushed!"_

 _"We got to get him out of there!"_

 _"Oh no, you don't! We want him dead!"_

 _"Yeah! Crush the robot! Crush the robot! Crush the robot!"_

 _"Will you shut up already?!"_

If he's on the track of the conveyor belt, then it means that his death involved getting crushed by the compactor. He remembered Tsumugi stated that the first Ultimate Hope's execution involved the same contraption that he was strapped in, this was it.

This was his execution.

It's getting closer, the shaking was becoming even more vigorous and the sound of the press was louder than before. Ki-Bo's eyes went wide, various images of what it would be like of getting crushed into pulp were racing inside his head. Overall, it won't be pretty.

He doesn't know what to do anymore. He couldn't move from the chains that bind him. His friends were gone and they didn't care about him anymore. The Outside World berates him and Team Danganronpa will find a way to kill the Ultimate Hope.

He could see the large, heavy metal looming above him. It's seconds before it slammed below him, there's no escape.

All Ki-Bo could do now was to close his eyes and brace for impact, but he didn't know that something else was coming to his execution.

* * *

 **Listos!**

 **Carguen!**

 **Apunten!**

 **Fuego!**

* * *

From the silence, there was an earsplitting bang, loud enough for Ki-Bo to open his eyes and witness what was currently happening in his execution. But he wished that he closed his eyes even longer, what he saw...It's...Mortifying.

Right above him were the familiar faces of Shuichi Saihara, Maki Harukawa, and Himiko Yumeno. They all looked pale, and their expression shows pain and dread. Soon, there was pink fluid staining their clothes and even spitting blood on their mouths. The main source of the liquid came from the gaping holes in their chests, right to where the heart resided.

The three of them completely limp and their corpses fell down to where Ki-Bo was laid at.

The robot felt the bodies falling on him like they were sacks of cement, cold and motionless. Ki-Bo's body was even more pinned now that there were 'extra weighs', his friends. He believed in what the brainwashed Shuichi said to him, that they're gone. And perhaps this adds up to the proof that they didn't exist anymore, by letting themselves get killed.

He blinked, trying to snap out from the trance of death waiting for him. He suspected that it's Tsumugi's doing on why the three got shot, but he was wrong. He saw the ringleader's corpse on the tracks, pink blood had splattered also. So if it wasn't her, then who?

Ki-Bo didn't care about it anymore.

Seeing the bodies being laid in front of him, their eyes...It's just like what happened to Miu Iruma. They stayed open, and that's the scary part. Even in death, their pink eyes still bore into his memory...Especially Shuichi's eyes, they were staring right into his. The menacing look from the detective makes the robot want to crawl but he couldn't move, he will forever be punished by remembering the eyes that had given to him as a failure to be the Ultimate Hope that he was supposed to be.

So...what now? Does everything stay as it is? Is the execution over? He wasn't even dead yet? Why didn't the large block move anymore? Did something glitched?

Ki-Bo...he didn't know what's happening next. Soon, programmed emotions were imploding to his data, too much that he couldn't even express how he feels right now. Betrayal? Revulsion? Melancholy?

Or even...

 **Is this my...Despair?**

 **Yes...I think that's right...Despair...**

 **Despair...**

 **Des...pair...**

That's right...That was the newfound emotion that he's feeling. After all the class trials he'd been through and survive, he could finally experience this emotion that his dead friends had gone through when they got tortured to death.

"...me..." Ki-Bo tried to process the words on his mouth, the shock of seeing their corpses still paralyze him from doing anything especially he doesn't know what to do anyway.

"...K-k-kill...m-me..." He said to the huge compactor that was mocking the robot from all of the events that were happening to him.

"Kill me..." He said it again, but the block didn't move.

"Kill me. Kill me. Kill me! **JUST KILL ME ALREADY!** " He screamed as loud as he could despite the corpses were giving him a hard time to speak up, it's technically the only thing he could do now.

"Why? Why aren't you moving?! Come on! Just move and crush me to pieces! Isn't that what you wanted! I'm giving you a chance to kill me immediately! I want to hear the sound of my own body crumbling to nothingness! I want to fulfill Team Danganronpa's wishes to see the Ultimate Hope to get executed! I want the outside world to mock me for my failures!" His chest heaved from the emotions that were racing upon his body, he never yelled like this before. It felt so good yet it's so bad!

His lips quivered, "They were right...They were right all along! But I was so STUPID to even believe every word they said! I'm not a human. I'm just a robot. Useless...a hunk of junk...I'm nothing but a traitor to humanity...I sent my friends to die and everything I fought for was all for nothing! No matter what I do...Nothing will change...Nothing at all will change...I'm such a...failure..."

Robots don't cry, but he wished he did. Not even the pain of his execution even helped to even shed a tear, for all that he felt now was numbness.

He accepted it. Accepted that he was a failure. Failure to save his friends. Failure to end the Killing Game. Failure to be the Ultimate is his Despair.

But for one thing that he doesn't want to accept, even though he already submitted to the harsh words that were implanted to his memory...

 _"No matter how much you tried to save your nonexistent friends, no matter how much you want to change this story, no matter how much you wished for a happy ending...Just accept it...You'll always be alone."_

 **I don't want to be alone...** _  
_

"RANTARO! KAEDE!"

Ki-Bo yelled their names, out of nowhere.

"RYOMA! KIRUMI! ANGIE! Can you hear me?!"

He remembered what Not-Shuichi had said to him.

"TENKO! KOREKIYO! MIU! Please answer!"

But for some reason, it's the only thing that he denied.

"GONTA! KOKICHI! KAITO! I beg of you!"

It's...Despair inducing.

"Tsumugi...Maki...Himiko..."

No one hears him.

"Shuichi...please..."

Nobody came.

"Don't leave me alone..."

He closed his eyes in defeat. Oh, why would he bother to yell their names out? After all, they're all dead. Therefore, he's alone. But why does his own heart kept on telling him that he wasn't? His mind and his heart were in a clash of beliefs, the mind says he's alone and the heart said he wasn't alone. What was the cause of this conflict?

Ki-Bo rests his head to one side, he would have to wait for Death to pick him up any minute from his execution. He's tired from all of this. He wanted to be over soon.

The robot wasn't aware that he pressed his 'ear' a bit too hard, though.

 _uuwuh! ah! a-a-ah...argh...ack! ah...!_

Wait, what?

 _I...I-I can't...I...don't have the strength...This is...the end for...me..._

His eyes shot open, who said that?

 _I'm...sorry...I just...couldn't go on...I can't...fight...anymore..._

"It couldn't be..."

 _You...were right...your choice...is right..._

 _Your true enemy...is...the ones who...wanted this to...happen...the outside world...it's their fault..._

"That voice..."

 _Use...me...I want you to use me..._

 _Change it...change the world..._

"Me..."

The creak from the mechanical gears of the press started to move until...

 _Change the world...plea...se..._

"Change the...world?" He asked.

From the question he asked, the realization came too late when the large block budged and it comes down to a hard slam.

And the next thing he knew, he was falling into darkness.

* * *

 **Interactive Segment: Unscramble the acronym for the 'Secret Ending' Chapter Title**

OSNTTHLPRET

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Meet your Team Danganronpa trio; Makoto, Hajime, and Ryoko/Junko.

[EDIT: Special thanks to The hazel-eyed-bookworm for correcting me on the Spanish lines in this chapter.]

I can't believe I just did the longest chapter that I ever wrote. Over 9,000 words and I think I'm gonna cry because of how long it was, I never expected that this was going to be long!

Okay, on to explanations about Ki-Bo's execution. The title was Mi Ultimo Adios, which means My Last Farewell in English. Technically, in real life, that's Dr. Jose Rizal's (My country's national hero) poem and it's his final work before he was executed years ago. Also, did you know that the poem got translated to Japanese also? Anyways, there are actually a lot of references in Ki-Bo's execution. Though the ones from Danganronpa were Makoto's execution and the human Chiaki's execution, if you can remember Hajime's response when Makoto mentioned that.

The rest of the concept were my country's historical events, mainly executions of the known people. Like Gomburza, Dr. Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, and Antonio Luna. Though, I consider Luna's assassination being an execution by Emilio Aguinaldo. I actually had some problems in terms of creating this chapter, the most one was that I have to at least have some accurate allusions of Ki-Bo's execution based on my country's historical executions. I was even nervous on the title of his execution, because I'm just scared.

[EDIT] Also, I just realized that Ki-Bo's execution is similar to how Jesus Christ died during His execution when I rewatched 'Passion of the Christ'. I'm actually surprised that it literally connects, then again Ki-Bo was called as 'Robojesus' before.

Also, it does make sense that Kaede's execution was entitled as Der Flohwalzer / The Flea Waltz which is the start, and Ki-Bo's execution in the end was Mi Ultimo Adios / My Last Goodbye.

There's an English translation of Mi Ultimo Adios, this is one of my favorite lines in the poem:

 _Pray thee for all the hapless who have died,_

 _For all those who unequalled torments have undergone;_

 _For our poor mothers who in bitterness have cried;_

 _For orphans, widows and captives to tortures were shied,_

 _And pray too that you may see your own redemption._


	5. OSNTTHLPRET

_"I've put my trust in you. Pushed as far as I can go. For all this. There's only one thing you should know."_

 _\- In The End (Linkin Park)_

* * *

 **Warning:**

 **This story is contained with spoilers from Danganronpa V3. If you have not watched it, move away now.**

 **This is the Secret Ending of 'The Ultimate Punishment' that has provided its true plot twist of the story. Whatever will happen in the story, will remain in the story itself.**

 **It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to read the Author's Note for further information about 'The Ultimate Punishment'.**

 **Appearances/Mentions of Team Danganronpa (As of Chapter 4):**

 **Izuru Kamakura - Founder**

 **Makoto Naegi - Director**

 **Hajime Hinata - Second Unit Director**

 **Juzo Sakakura - Head Security**

 **Kyosuke Munakata - Actor**

 **Chisa Yukizome - Actress**

 **Kazuichi Soda - Construction Team Head**

 **Kiyotaka Ishimaru - Security**

 **Mondo Owada - Security**

 **Mahiru Koizumi - Camera**

 **Ryota Mitarai - Editor (Retired)**

 **Ryoko Otonashi / Junko Enoshima - Head Editor**

 **Chihiro Fujisaki - System Administrator**

 **Mikan Tsumiki - Medical Team Head**

/

P.S: I'm really scared right now!

* * *

A friend of mine once said when I was chosen to direct _V3_ :

 _"Always keep your cool with your actions and the words that you're about to say...Because rage will lead to many MANY regretful things in your life..."_

I took his advice well, I followed the guidelines on how to become a director when I was an actor before since I was fated to work as one when I applied in Team Danganronpa. There are ups and downs, but I don't want to talk about the downs just so you ask.

Being a director seems fine actually; guiding my staffs in what they should do in their assigned jobs, able to express my creativity, and I can finally be acknowledged as Makoto Naegi the Director _(and not Makoto Naegi the Ultimate Hope, I don't want to hear that anymore)_.

I'm the type of director who was benevolent and open for some suggestions to my fellow writers, though I am pretty strict when it comes to following my concept the exact way on how the show presented it to the _Danganronpa_ viewers.

This is also the reason why I **WAS SO MAD AT THIS POINT!**

* * *

 _October 7, 2017_

 _11:03:07_

\+ Recording +

 _uuwuh! ah! a-a-ah...argh...ack! ah...!_

 _I...I-I can't...I...don't have the strength...This is...the end for...me..._

 _I'm...sorry...I just...couldn't go on...I can't...fight...anymore..._

 _You...were right...your choice...is right..._

 _Your true enemy...is...the ones who...wanted this to...happen...the outside world...it's their fault..._

 _Use...me...I want you to use me..._

 _Change it...change the world..._

 _Change the world...plea...se..._

* * *

 ** _BREAKING NEWS!_**

* * *

 ** _"The Riot"_**

* * *

 ** _The Riot has caused several participants and protesters injured during the event_**

* * *

 _ **Participants blamed Team Danganronpa for irresponsibility**_

* * *

 _ **Protesters claimed responsibility over the Riot**_

* * *

 _ **Man arrested for the use of firearms**_

* * *

 _ **First Hope Execution a victory or failure?**_

* * *

I remained staring at the screen that shows the aftermath of Ki-Bo's execution...and the event I'd like to call as 'The Riot'.

The news was spreading fast just as soon as they caught every single scene on camera, many of them were talking about how the Riot came to happen during the first Hope Execution. In which, and I admit, have NOT expected that to happen in the first place.

This is why I requested my friends to call them while I was preventing myself to cause an outburst in Team Danganronpa...again.

Hajime and Ryoko had gathered every single staff who was in behind the scenes of _Danganronpa V3_ , especially the ones who were in the robot's execution a few hours ago. They were wounded from the riot though, and Mikan had to work excessively just to bandage them while the others were still coming to the main room.

And you ask, what happened after Ki-Bo's execution? Well, my friend. It's a MESS. A mess! Like 'almost-the-biggest-most-awful-most-tragic-event-in-human-history' kind of mess! And you know why? BECAUSE SOMETHING WENT OFF THE SCRIPT! THERE WAS A MISTAKE AND I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THAT MISTAKE FROM RUINING THE SCRIPT!

The reaction when I freaked out when it's just me, Hajime, Ryoko, and Chihiro, it was horrifying that even the System Administrator cried when he saw my _(angry)_ face. I had to apologize to him, it was so stupid of me flipping out in front of a young boy.

Anyways, outside of Team Danganronpa was a mess. You could see some trash scattering on the road, eggs _(don't say Makoto Naeggy or you're dead)_ , tomatoes, even those empty soda cans, and paint being splattered all around. I could even see the shotgun that was used to mutilate the robot, which was not PART OF THE EXECUTION AT ALL!

Other than that, the Riot had caused several damages in terms of the properties within the execution radius. Which is approximately where Juzo's security team had stood post of...and got hurt...and got the fences disfigured. The medical tent got tears and the medicines had gone missing, mostly because it was used in the Riot.

Sigh...I'm getting stressed from all of this, I was dead silent while the others were gathered and I still haven't moved away from the screen. The scene I witnessed, it's unimaginable that I couldn't look away.

Especially when I see the compactor that was used in my execution in _Trigger Happy Havoc_ , I could easily see that Tsumugi's corpse still there in the tracks...and was surrounded by a flock of crows around it. Good riddance for Tsumugi, yet I do feel bad that we've lost another 'creative' person. But then again, I don't like her. From that, I let her, the 'Executive Producer', die during Ki-Bo's execution. I feel the sigh of relief when I saw her falling and landed on the pool of her blood.

And then comes the huge block of metal that was used to pulverize its victims, it's where the remaining three got shot by the gunmen _(that we legally hired just to give the robot even more Despair in his execution)_. So far, all I could see under the compactor were the pure pink blood being splattered and nothing else.

Everything came to dead silence, I assume that everyone that Hajime and Ryoko called are now present in the meeting since they poked my shoulder as a signal that they're ready.

I turned around and looked at them, my eyes were showing some black bags under them. I never slept, that's why. They didn't bother to even say something about my _(tired)_ face, they didn't. Because the last time someone _(Yasuhiro Hagakure, Team Danganronpa's Media Agent)_ said something about my condition, I threw a chair at him. Looks like they took note of it, and remained silent _(especially Hiro was sitting at the far corner)_ until I permitted them to.

I released a long, deep sigh, erasing _(partially)_ all of my anger and calming my nerves.

"What happened in there?" I started the conversation with a question, but the question I asked startled the staff. They're still afraid of my rage, aren't they? As a result, no one answered. It's just the silence that was telling me, the Riot did several damages and they were scared to even tell me. It's like I'm some strict parent going to hurt a child! Even Hajime and Ryoko were looking away from me in disgust, them too? Geez...

"Look...I'm not mad at what happened in the Riot." I tried my best to speak up and showed to them that I'm not _(bursting)_ mad, "I just want to know who caused it."

A hand was raised, I could see Taka standing up much to Juzo's dismay. He was the one who played as the Ex-Ultimate Moral Compass _(and he's literally the grandson of a retired prime minister, who didn't do anything wrong, unlike his character's backstory, just so you know)_ , so it makes sense that he's the first one to speak up.

"Director Naegi..." Taka took a nervous breath, "The security team had been run over by the protesters during the Ultimate Hope's execution...The reports were...unimaginable. They were able to break away from our defense systems and attacked us..we tried our best to stop them and...Director Naegi...I apologize for my incapability as a guard!"

As a result, Mondo stood up and elbowed Taka. The person who played as the Ex-Ultimate Biker Gang Leader still got his character on, or maybe it's just really him. "Bro, you don't have to do that! You can't just take the blame all to yourself! That's just stupid! None of it was your fault!"

"But it is! I was so weak to subdue the intruders from entering that I ended up in the stampede!"

Juzo had his fingers pinched over the bridge of his nose the whole time, had enough of the argument and followed in speaking up, "Just calm the heck down, Ishimaru! I'm the head of the security team, so I should be the one who should take responsibility!"

"Let's make the three of you speak up instead!" I raised my voice since they might be going to start causing a commotion again, this made them silent for a while.

"Taka already said the whole thing, sir." Juzo murmured as he placed a hand behind his neck.

I could only shake my head slowly, "That's all I need to know from you three, sit down."

Technically, this wasn't the answer I was looking for.

Mikan finished patching up herself after she was done in helping the injured staff. She got numerous tears on her clothes that she had to wear a jacket provided by Team Danganronpa's Technical Director named Chiaki Nanami, also known as one of the _Danganronpa_ viewers' Waifu. Mahiru was checking every lens on her video cameras that some of them she retrieved from the Riot, she was so ticked when most of them got broken! Heck, she even asked Kazuichi to fix them when our Construction head was just a mechanic and not a technician.

Hajime walked towards Mikan just to check if she's alright, she seems to calm down from what happened to her.

"Mikan?" He lightly touched her shoulder, and yet she was still jumpy from the call.

Her head was covered with the gauze and her face got more bandages on it, "Y-y-yes, Haj-jime?"

"Do you have any ideas on who did this to you?" He asked sincerely, but the sound of it made Mahiru burst.

"Isn't it obvious, Hajime?" Mahiru asked in annoyance, "It's the protesters. They were the ones who wrecked at least everything in their path during the execution! Just look at my cameras!" She showed the dismembered camera, probably the most damaged gadget from all the cameras in there. "They're ruined! I couldn't even believe that those men got the guts to climb over the walls and swing a BAT over them!"

"Well, at least it wasn't your head!" Kazuichi spoke up while trying his best to even put the broken cameras altogether, even though he couldn't. "Someone just hit me with a soda can! A SODA CAN! They even took over the compactor! I blacked out! OH, WHY DO PEOPLE HATE ME?!" He limply laid the pieces and slammed his head on the table, I could hear the mechanic wailing from the incident _(most people do hate him in Goodbye Despair)_ that Chiaki placed her hand over Kazuichi's shoulder while reading something on her tablet.

She enlisted, "The Tech team had many damages, the cameras were broken, the compactor glitched out, and the production truck...almost got car-napped."

Hajime bit his lip, who knew that the protesters got the guts to inflict so much damages within an hour or so.

But that's not the answer that I was looking for either, I just rolled my eyes in disappointment. We'll deal with the damages that happened but there are more things to discuss, like the Riot.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, "You seriously all don't know who caused it?!"

They were looking away from me, avoiding eye contact. I'm taking that as a no.

Unconsciously, I sighed. More likely, I had some insights on who caused the Riot in the first place, but I also need some second opinions.

"Okay then, I'll tell you my guess. But I think you all might go against my opinion once I said it." That made everyone looked at me _(because I'm the boss, unfortunately)_.

But by the time I opened my mouth -

"Perhaps I can provide some thoughts, lad?"

Someone just barged into the meeting, but I can't let myself get mad to someone being rude to me. Because I know who owned that voice, everybody does.

Ryoko gasped, "Mr. Kamukura!"

The surname made everyone stood up from their seats, even me. We all saw an old man around his fifties, his hair is white and carries a cane with him _(despite he had a perfect posture for an elderly)_. The old man raised a hand, a non-verbal gesture saying 'sit down'. Of course, by common sense and authority, he walked towards where I am. The tapping on his cane provided noise from the silence, I took a step back but God knows why I unconsciously did that though...

One thing that I always took note of, is that this man needs to be respected. Because he's the person who founded Team Danganronpa in the first place, his name was even christened to Hajime's alter ego. His name is... **Izuru Kamukura**.

"My, my! Why was this joyful place being filled with silence? You should all be proud of yourselves! Every single member of Team Danganronpa had put extra effort to present its first ever Hope Execution!" Mr. Kamukura clapped his hands in applause out of nowhere. And reluctantly, all of us forced ourselves to at least follow him much to our dismay.

The applause quiets down as Mr. Kamukura looked at me, his cold eyes already screamed 'I know what you did' to me.

"Makoto, you don't need to explain furthermore. I am fully aware of the Riot almost cost us members who got caught in the attack."

I hung my head down. Technically, we were supposed to tell Mr. Kamukura about this right after we figured the Riot out but that's too late. "I apologize, sir. We were trying to find out who could have done this to us, but no luck."

Mr. Kamukura nodded in understanding, "I just heard that you have an idea on the culprit. We might have the same thinking, Makoto."

That made me blink.

Mr. Kamukura said nothing, he walked towards the live switcher and started fiddling with the controls. Upon the television screen, we all saw the video clip of where the security team was before they were attacked by the protesters. All of the people in Team Danganronpa watched as they witnessed _(aside from Juzo, Mondo, and Taka in humiliation)_ the barricades got destroyed and the guards being ran over from the stampede. Mr. Kamukura paused the video and then he looked at us, he kept a stoic face.

"Now, I want you all to listen to the audio of this clip. Listen closely, then I think we might have the same ideas."

He played the audio, all of us followed on what the founder said. We could hear the sounds of the protesters yelling, we even hear the defenses broken down because of the loud creaking noise that signifies the barricades being bent...brutally. But that's it, none of us were able to get the answer from the sounds that we've heard. Nothing. Mr. Kamukura then rewinds the audio again, and again, and again, until we could get the sound that our founder was looking for. Much to our dismay that it's torturing us, even so as a hidden punishment because of the Riot.

I saw Ryoko having her eyes closed, it seemed like she was concentrating hard. She was the actress of the Ex-Ultimate Analyst, after all. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she was focusing on her hearing since the video clip was pretty much noisy to hear which sound Mr. Kamukura wanted.

* * *

 _It's noisy..._

 _It's hard to get a word from the people saying at one time, I do wish that I have Kaede's enhanced audio hearing._

 _Wait...I'm getting something..._

 _Huh? A gun? Since when there's a gun -_

* * *

 **"I hear it!"** As much as I appreciate Ryoko's intelligence, does she have to say that out loud?

"Hear what, Ryoko?" Hajime was even curious about what she just heard, his hearing couldn't even get the same sound as Ryoko does.

With her Editing skills, Ryoko quickly went to the live switcher and her hands started to do its work, though it was fast enough that I lost the sight of her hands pressing the buttons and other controls. Her hand finally laid on the knob, indicating that she was finished editing the clip.

"I was able to voice enhance the sound that Mr. Kamukura was looking for, I ho -, wished that you can hear it clearly now," Ryoko said as she played the clip one more time.

So far, it's pretty much the same thing. Nothing was changed on the first minutes of the video, but then we could hear some new sounds from the clip. We now hear the sound of a gun being loaded and then -

 _BANG!_

 _"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"_

All of the staff, aside from Mr. Kamukura and Ryoko, got scared from the scream we've just heard that some went jumpy or even fell from their seats. We all thought that it's a jumpscare from whatever horror games you could think of, but this one was real.

"Dang, what the heck was that?!" Kazuichi angrily asked while trying to get back on his knees when he fell on his chair because of the scream.

Mr. Kamukura answered, "Everyone, this was what the true cause of the Riot."

The scream made my ears ache a little, but it also made me skeptic about the sound that Mr. Kamukura had told us to find. The rest of the team were confused about what the founder was talking about, especially the Security Team.

"A scream? A SCREAM?!" Juzo didn't even take that answer well either. "Mr. Kamukura, if is this one of your funny jokes then I'm not laughing! That Riot almost killed us and I've never been humiliated like that ever!"

Mondo agreed as well, "Yeah! How can a scream broke the barrier in the first place?! The robot's not even a siren or anything, right?"

Taka remained seated, he almost got the same reaction as I had. "I am confused as well. I found it impossible for the Ultimate Hope would do such a thing." He placed a finger on his cheek, still deep in thought.

Hajime was also skeptical on what Mr. Kamukura meant. His fellow workers got hurt from the Riot and he's ticked on whoever did it to them, but a scream from the Ex-Ultimate Robot couldn't possibly be the one responsible from the Riot. It even sounds absurd in his point of view.

When she looked at Mr. Kamukura, Ryoko could only shrug as a response. I'm not sure what she was saying without her mouth open, but I think she has an answer…she just wanted Mr. Kamukura to talk instead.

"I know that this is not what you all would have expected from our intruders to cause the Riot in the first place, and I also know that none of these events were our misdoings. However, no matter how much we get rid of these flaws, Mistakes will always occur. It is the balance that we have to harshly follow within our lives, just like Hope and Despair."

Mr. Kamukura then looked at me.

"Why don't you tell them, Makoto?"

I did not expect that. When he ordered someone to tell something, that means to say that the person he commands them to speak was the immediate culprit. Whether there was concrete evidence or not, Mr. Kamukura always gets his wild guesses right.

"M-me? W-w-wait! What did I do?!" I asked while unconsciously pointing to myself. What did I do? I was the one who conducted the Hope Execution, so I know what happened to every single scene. I didn't do anything wrong.

And if I did SOMETHING wrong, I would have put the whole blame to _(the unreliable)_ Tsumugi Shirogane! She always ruined everything I planned, she mistreated the other workers, and she even almost took over Danganronpa V3! I became invisible to her own eyes, it's like I was her shadow or something! She didn't respect her director or even Mr. Kamukura. Rumors has it, she attempted to take over Team Danganronpa for herself.

So...I had to do what's best for everyone. Thankfully, everyone agreed to one resolution: Eliminate Tsumugi Shirogane at once. And that's where I killed Tsumugi the way she killed _(the Plan A Protagonist)_ Kaede Akamatsu, I killed her by execution.

Now I ho-, I mean, Now I would be relieved if you understood my side of the story...at least.

But because she's _(despairingly)_ gone, Mr. Kamukura couldn't blame anyone...but myself.

He pointed his cane at me, "I order you to speak, Makoto Naegi. For you are the person who orchestrates the execution, and there is no doubt that you memorized every sequence of it too."

"But what does that supposed to mean?! Sure, I was the one who planned the execution. I know none of us would make a mistake because we followed the script exactly as it was!" I retaliated, but Mr. Kamukura doesn't seem to flinch.

"And that was your grave mistake!"

...Wait, what?

"Wait...what?"

What I did was wrong? Since when following the script was wrong? And...why I'm the only one who went wrong?

I look at Ryoko and Hajime. I was confused on what's happening right now, maybe they might have some ideas...even though it's going to get painful.

Hajime saw me when I looked directly at him, he responded with a disappointed sigh.

"What Mr. Kamukura meant to say…you just got hoisted by your own petard."

"…I got what?" I'm sorry, I don't understand what Hajime said about that idiom or even everything that I was accused of.

Because of that, Ryoko instead rewind the tape longer until it reached at the beginning of Ki-Bo's execution.

* * *

 _October 7, 2017_

 _04:09:19_

\+ Recording +

 _Despite his efforts to escape the chains that were chasing him, its shackles were able to bind his legs, arms, waist, feet, and wrists altogether. Ki-Bo then felt a strong pull that dragged him towards the dark hatch, his arms even tried to reach out even though he knew it's futile now that the three pairs of pink eyes and one pair of blue eyes were staring below him as the darkness had finally swallowed him._

 _He felt like he was falling to a deep realm until the hard impact from the ground stops him from falling, and it was painful too. Just as he got the sense to rise, the chains were restraining him from even moving. His arms were bound from the sides while his feet were bound together, almost looked like as if he was literally crucified on the ground._

 _It seems dark at first, apart from the small light coming from above, almost acting as a spotlight that was directed at him while he was bound._

 _Then, a flash of light came all around the abyss that made Ki-Bo want to cover his eyes from the brightness if his arms weren't shackled. From what he saw, the chasm wasn't actually a place that was filled with stalagmites and stalactites. Even the 'ground' wasn't even ground after all, more like a rusty looking metallic floor._

 _There were screens that were activated in every angle, what kind of a place that has television screens below a trap door?_

 _The static effect from the screen faded, revealing a man appeared to be wearing formal clothes and he has green eyes and brown hair with a large chunk of it sticking out in the air._

* * *

Wait a minute… **that man was me!**

* * *

 _"Hello there, Ki-Bo." I smiled from the monitor while staring the pitiful figure of the Ultimate Hope, "We've been waiting for you."_

 _Ki-Bo begins to show confusion from his face, he doesn't know who I am after all._

 _"...Wh...Wh-who...Who are...you?" He asked me while trying to move from his binds._

 _As much as I want to say who I really am, I'm pretty sure he doesn't need to know. It's going to be obvious anyway._

 _"My name would not matter in this situation you are having right now. But what matters is that you, the new titleholder as the Ultimate Hope, will be participating in this final execution."_

 _"You! ...You're the person from Team Danganronpa!" I could see him glaring at me. See? I told you he knows who I am. And that makes me laugh when he pretends to be brave, still the stupid robot I created and know of._

 _I want to taunt this robot more, "Well, what are you gonna do to me? Huh? Would you still use your stupid platitudes to break those chains that bind you? Heh! You couldn't even lift a manhole because of how weak you were! How pathetic."_

 _My taunt worked when I intimidated Ki-Bo, you could see him shrinking but the shackles don't want him to._

 _"What are you going to do next? Are you still going to execute me?"_

 _I gave the robot a grin even though it's fake, "Of course, I still want to execute you! It's just...it's better to have some chit chat to our Ultimate Hope before you get dismantled. Besides that, I just don't want YOU to reach out and cause any signs of rebellion to THEM."_

 _"...T-th-them?!"_

* * *

Chills were running down from my spine, I didn't know that I look and sound creepy from an audience point of view. It made me wonder why Ryoko even played this clip in the first place, this might be the part where I made a mistake? Well, it's the only part where I showed myself after all.

* * *

 _I smiled eerily at him with an empty voice, "You didn't think that your execution would be private, did you?"_

 _Then it was the cue flooring beneath Ki-Bo to rise, almost for me to see him in one angle._

* * *

"Makoto Naegi, this is where you made your mistake." Mr. Kamukura told me to pay attention.

I was frozen from my spot. I don't what was a mistake or why I did it, but I have to find out so I can fix that stupidity of mine.

* * *

 _"To be honest, your talent is actually powerful."_

 _"A robot like you were able to give Hope towards the Danganronpa audiences within a fraction of a second, unlike the previous ones. Because of that, you might even **start a rebellion against us by controlling them by your words** and we are not allowing that to happen."_

* * *

Ryoko stopped the clip, and the room fell in silence as the whole crew of Team Danganronpa looked at me.

Of course...I remember saying that line, but was that my mistake?

"Have you forgotten about what are the capabilities to a titleholder of Ultimate Hope, Makoto?" Mr. Kamukura asked me, his voice was raised slightly.

I gulped but I still nodded as a response, he doesn't want to wait for answers.

 **"Ultimate Hope, defined as a character who were the pure representatives of Hope itself. Uses their talent to either guide people towards the golden age, optimism, and charisma, or even going far as to sacrifice oneself in the name of Hope."**

I recited the definition of Ultimate Hope based on his exact words, which gives Mr. Kamukura some satisfaction.

"Correct, what you said is true." He confirmed what I said, but there's always a catch.

"True enough to start some chains of events!"

That gave me some spark to move my body and retaliate, "But Mr. Kamukura, those were words! Platitudes! There's no way that robot could have done that during his execution! He failed to save the three from their brainwashing!"

"Sure, his talent failed to break the effects of the brainwashing video I installed to Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko. But he did use his talent to someone else!" Ryoko then raised her voice at me, I took a step back from her sudden response.

"Someone else?"

Ryoko looked at me with solemn eyes, "His own voice sparked the protesters to attack the execution participants. They heard him when he was trying to save his brain dead friends, but the scream already crossed over the line as if it's their 'Go Signal' to attack..."

I remained silent, she does have a point there.

"Ki-Bo was hurt." Ryoko continued, "It's natural for some people to help him."

See that? That's also one of the reasons why I get confused to the humans at times. Some people like him and some people hate him to death. My hands curled into a fist, angered that the robot did something stupid...again.

"Stupid robot..."

Hajime stood up from his chair, "Makoto, you are the first Ultimate Hope announced. Didn't you remember how you used your talent before?"

"Of course, I did! All I have to do was to be optimistic and stuff! Nothing else!"

"And what happened to the characters who did listen to your 'Platitudes? Huh?" Hajime walked towards me with a glare from his eyes, he even raised his finger to poke my chest hard. "Don't forget, Makoto. YOU were Ki-Bo's creator, YOU were the one who programmed him into your image, YOU were the one who gave him his TRUE TITLE as the Ultimate Hope!" He said to me with a harsh tone, and I don't like it when he mentioned about me being Ki-Bo's creator. Idabashi doesn't exist in this world, folks! And it ticks me off!

I furiously brushed Hajime's hand away, "So what if I made Ki-Bo to be the STUPID ROBOT he is?! What does it have to do with me?!"

But Hajime fights back when he pushed me, "Which means it's your entire fault why the Riot happened in the first place!"

"Oh! How come it's my fault?!"

"Well, if you hadn't taunted your robot, then he wouldn't have any idea on how powerful his Ultimate Talent was in his execution!"

"He's just being stup - "

"Can you stop pinning the blame on the robot, please?!"

"Why are you on his side?!"

Everyone was feeling uneasy of me and Hajime fighting, even Mr. Kamukura wasn't pleased with our behavior. The security team was going to stop us before we could even start punching each other, but our founder stopped them with a raise of his hand.

I continue to taunt Hajime, "Oh wow, Hajime Hinata! Just because you also got the title of Ultimate Hope the last time, doesn't mean you could use your 'abilities' against me!"

"You're going too far, Makoto! This isn't you!" Hajime said to me as if I'm the good ol' Ex-Ultimate Lucky Student. I'm not as adorable as you think. And they were always being too cautious of me, that's what I don't like also.

"Stop treating me like a kid!"

"But you act like one!"

"You think so?!"

"Yeah!"

I got my fist raised at him, ready to strike. "Why I oughta - "

"HAJIME AND MAKOTO THAT'S ENOUGH!" Ryoko shouted at us, she even caught my hand right before I'm going to hit Hajime. It's just in time for Ryoko to stop the fight before it even began, but I could tell that she's mad. She was panting like crazy!

Mr. Kamukura stared at the three of us, the leaders of their branches of Team Danganronpa, were acting unprofessionally. With a disappointed sigh, he looked at everyone.

"I will talk to them. Meeting adjourned."

And from that, everyone except me, Ryoko, and Hajime, stood up from their seats and walked out from the room. Then comes the sound of silence aside from Mr. Kamukura's cane tapping on the floor as he walked towards us, Ryoko still hadn't let go of my hand. I can believe I got involved in his lectures again, but perhaps that's the downside of being a Director. So, the responsibility was pretty large enough to get blamed.

"Are you two men calm?" Mr. Kamukura asked without a change from his voice.

"Yes," I answered while Hajime nodded, then Ryoko let go of my hand.

"While I understand that you wanted to fix your mistake, Makoto Naegi, you CAN'T just simply vent your anger unprofessionally! I am disappointed with how you acted."

I looked away for Mr. Kamukura, taking those words to the heart.

"And may I ask you this, because it seems that you have the hatred towards the robot. Every time we even mentioned his name, vex comes out afterward."

My heart's igniting fire, knowing what he'll be going to ask me might cause a second Riot. But I'm bracing for it, I don't care what's coming after me anyway.

 **"What did Ki-Bo ever do to you?"**

My head snapped to him, that pang inside of me forcing myself to move. The question went surprising as I expected to be. What did that stupid robot ever do to me?

"Well, lad? Speak up."

I could see my hands were shaking that I had to hide it behind my back. Ryoko and Hajime were looking at me too, but I couldn't take a glance at their facial expressions. I guess it makes sense for them to get angry at a friend.

"I don't know," I answered bluntly, in which I received a suspicious glare from me.

"You don't know? Or you don't WANT to know?"

"..." I couldn't answer. Or more precisely, I don't want to answer that question.

Mr. Kamukura sighed, "Your immature actions had caused great peril in Team Danganronpa. It is very irrational of you to act on your behalf also. From that pinnacle of your hatred...you also gave us a discovery of further knowing the capabilities of the Ultimate Hope. We might as well look on the bright side if you keep on behaving like that, Makoto Naegi."

"..."

"The Ex-Ultimate Robot's main role was to become the camera that could connect to the Outside World, so that the audience can use him as an interactive character towards the students and to even guide him throughout the Killing Game."

It was supposed to be according to the plan to, he's right about Ki-Bo.

"Weak as an old human person, boasting about his importance and reliability as a robot, and even has a distaste about 'Robophobia'. Perhaps we underestimated that robot right from the start of his creation, the 53rd Ultimate Hope was a robot. I suppose the audience wouldn't have been surprised if he was created to your own image." He looked at me for a second before continuing.

"Just as our late 'Executive Producer' had said, Ki-Bo is the connector of the Outside World. His own fate will cause a worldwide spread of Despair to the world, the Ultimate Despair has to do is to murder the robot and the Butterfly Effect will take place...Or at least, that's what you would have thought."

My own mouth had given a chance to move, "I'm taking my guess. Obviously, when that robot proclaimed himself as the Ultimate Hope. His role went the other way around."

"Correct, his execution and the Riot were the key proof of his ability as the titleholder of the Ultimate Hope. Ki-Bo was much as powerful than you or Hajime, it's just like you said, 'able to spread Hope within a fraction of a second to the point of causing a rebellion'. We are lucky enough to know this phenomenon...and learn its a painful lesson that we all have to face."

I know that he doesn't need to remind me that. It's messing me up whenever he talks about the abilities of being an Ultimate Hope, considering that I was also one _(something that I want to erase from my life)_.

Mr. Kamukura started to walk towards the door, ending his talk to the three of us. But not without looking back, "Are you finished with your next episode?" he asked me.

I nodded, "Yes, we'll air it as soon as possible."

"Good." He then walked out of the room, silence came after.

I felt exhausted from the meeting, I haven't slept for who knows how many days I stayed up for _V3_. My cup already ran out of coffee for me to drink, and my eyes were getting heavier than usual. Ryoko and Hajime were looking at my fragile stature despite they're still not happy at my attitude, but their faces were showing concern rather than anger.

Hajime places a hand over my shoulder, "You okay, Makoto?"

"Yeah," I answered, he seemed to calm down and _(forced to)_ forget that our fight even existed.

But enough about the meeting, I'm getting even more stressed in thinking about it. So far, the Riot was still a topic from the network. People who witnessed the incident were still angry about the outcome, they could only blame Team Danganronpa for it. Humans can be so confusing, especially when they complain too much.

I reached my hand to pick the show's script and read the pages of it, there's still more to finish and I don't have to time in doing silly gimmicks. With a deep sigh, I turned around to look at the television screen that was on pause for the whole time. It showed Ki-Bo's terrified face, it was the time when he was about to get executed. As much as the execution actually 'killed' _(or dismantled)_ the robot, I'm still not happy from what happened regardless.

I want to forget this already and move on.

"Come on, guys," I said to Ryoko and Hajime, in which the two nodded to the director since they were prepared more than I do.

"We got work to do."

* * *

 _uuwuh! ah! a-a-ah...argh...ack! ah...!_

Wait, what?

 _I...I-I can't...I...don't have the strength...This is...the end for...me..._

His eyes shot open, who said that?

 _I'm...sorry...I just...couldn't go on...I can't...fight...anymore..._

"It couldn't be..."

 _You...were right...your choice...is right..._

 _Your true enemy...is...the ones who...wanted this to...happen...the outside world...it's their fault..._

"That voice..."

 _Use...me...I want you to use me..._

 _Change it...change the world..._

"Me..."

The creak from the mechanical gears of the press started to move until...

 _Change the world...plea...se..._

"Change the...world?" He asked.

From the question he asked, the realization came too late when the large block budged and it comes down to a hard slam.

And the next thing he knew, he was falling into darkness.

* * *

 **Am I...falling?**

Everything around Ki-Bo is dark, he couldn't see a thing except his own hands and his feet. It's all that he sees in the darkness.

He...was having a hard time regaining his thoughts about what happened to him after his execution. Which is funny, he's already dead when the huge block slammed into him. Ki-Bo didn't have the chance to close his eyes and braced for the impact, and neither does his dead friends.

Ki-Bo wondered if this is the same feeling as what happened to Kokichi Oma, the late Ultimate Supreme Leader, who killed himself by letting Kaito Momota, the late Ultimate Astronaut, activate the hydraulic press and inevitably murder the boy. Of course, it was against Kaito's wishes to murder someone, but Kokichi persuades him because Maki will get executed instead.

Except, the mechanism between the hydraulic press and the trash compactor was different actually. Both machines were provided with a huge piston ram that was used to give enough force to flatten any object within the pressing range, mostly used to crush any garbage or cars. But this is _Danganronpa_ , so that device was used for killing obviously. Especially because the safety apparatus of the hydraulic press got deactivated, he might as well guess that Kokichi's death claimed to be...painful. Whether it came from the poison or the press itself, Kokichi didn't deserve a painful and brutal death like that.

 ** Even in Death...I couldn't feel...anything... **

He couldn't feel or define exactly how he felt like when he got crushed, physical pain to be exact. All he knows from his eyes, the block falls on him and that's it! He was literally falling to...something that he could land on. But does the darkness even had a surface? Like a floor or a wall? He doesn't know! It's dark! It's really, really dark!

 **Where...am I?**

Heaven? Hell? Purgatory? He doesn't know either. He's still falling, that's for sure.

 **I am...useless...**

Does he? After going through of getting voted, betrayed by his friends, had to face the execution that Team Danganronpa prepared, endure the humiliation from the outside world, and...facing his Despair.

In the end, it's all his fault. Ki-Bo wouldn't fall for Tsumugi's trap if he hadn't spoken up and battle against Despair on his own, that was his biggest mistake he'd ever done.

 **Everything...is all my fault...**

 **All my fault...**

He's still falling, but he couldn't do anything about it. The robot lost everything he had and now he's trapped in darkness with nowhere to escape from, and it's sickening to see the exasperating color. It reminded him of Shuichi's detective uniform, one that which he wished to forget. The color belonged to his friend, after all, the one who was formerly a detective who was afraid to face the truth becomes the player who was determined to finally end the game.

And what happened to him in the end? Shuichi got brainwashed and hurt Ki-Bo, then got publicly executed by getting shot by the firing squad.

 **...What is this...feeling?**

 **I...feel heavy...**

He placed his hand over his chest, the source of the weight inside of him. Ki-Bo got the same feeling when he was executed, the expression of pain and numbness clashing each other. Something that he couldn't get the word out of it.

But the feeling did spark the robot a piece of its memory, something that did give him emotions that he could not comprehend from.

That memory was the death of his friends. He remembered someone shouting, and then comes the sound of gunfire that came from out of nowhere. The sight of the three even shocked Ki-Bo as they died when they were actually a part of the Ultimate Hope's execution, it's unfair that they were only used just to give Ki-Bo... **Despair**...

 **Ah...that's right...I have forgotten about that...**

 ** It's Despair... **

It's painful, but at the same time, it's numb. This could only happen whenever the image of Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko dying flashed in front of his face, a flashback to be exact. For some reason, it is the only memory that he wanted to remember.

 **I feel...Despair...**

It's strange, he feels something light. But that's not because of his fragile body structure, the robot just feels lighter than usual. Perhaps this is also the effects of Despair taking over him slowly.

 **Maybe...Maybe I deserve to suffer...like this...**

Ki-Bo gave himself a solemn smile, but his eyes showed sadness. He wished that he could finally cry now that he's...well, dead. The robot wondered if there was even someone feel sad for him when he died, but people hated him for existing. So why bother?

 **Maybe I shouldn't exist...**

He doesn't want to be alone.

He wanted to fade away from the darkness.

He wants his suffering to end.

He closed his eyes as he waits for himself to rust and disintegrates into nothingness.

"I want to...die."

But does he want to die?

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* * *

 _**"There's no way you'll let Despair win over Hope, right? It's time for you to survive against it."**_

 _**"Don't you dare to give up, Ki-Bo!"** _

There was a flash of light shining to his face, he opened his eyes to see find out whoever called him. He knows that the sound was a boy, and then comes a girl. And for some scary reason, they sound familiar to him! Ki-Bo must have been hallucinating from the silence he's only listening to, but at the same time, he wanted to believe that he recognized those voices.

"...Rantaro?...Kaede?" The name of his deceased friends coming out from his lips.

 _**"Heed my words, Robot Boy. Don't follow me. I see how you value your humanity even it is artificial. Because of you, I believe that there is really some Hope."** _

_**"Fixing things is a long way ahead, but, no, you've started, and there is no way to see it unfinished. Ki-Bo, be strong."** _

From where he's facing, there was a small twinkling light...and it's glowing even brighter.

"Ryoma...Kirumi..."

Their words.

They're...encouraging him?!

 _**"Believe in Atua's grace! Angie knows He will save you! You are kindhearted, there is no way He will forsake Ki-Bo!"** _

_**"Tenko hates those male degenerates, but Ki-Bo is far nice. So, fight! Fight Despair!"** _

_**"Humans are all beautiful beings. But, you also proved that even your heart is made up of gears, you try to live as a human! Show me how you will live in more years, Ki-Bo.** "_

"Angie?! Tenko?! Korekiyo?!"

It's unbelievable! He could hear their voices!

 _**"Too bad I won't be able to repair you anymore, but, don't just trash your life away! Give your butt until the extent, you can't die."** _

_**"Gonta believes that Ki-Bo is not a bad person. Live, live. A good person deserves a long life."** _

"Miu! Gonta!"

Then, there comes this new feeling inside him. It's like something is sparking within and yet he wasn't even malfunctioning, that spark made Ki-Bo move at least.

The small light is growing bigger and bigger as it slowly illuminating the darkness.

 _**"You'll regret coming here on the other side... Because I won't stop asking if you have a dill!"** _

_**"Say, Ki-Bo, you managed to help us. Don't let my death be in vain. Ya know how much I put my faith in ya!"** _

"Kokichi?! Kaito!"

Even the voice of the person who made fun of the robot was also there to support him, even the so-called Luminary of the Stars is also present!

He realized that he felt the strange feeling inside of him before, he wanted to remember how he obtained this feeling in the first place.

 _**"Behold! I'll pass my mage powers unto you! Don't let her win! Use your all mana! Kiiiiiii-Boooooooooo!"** _

_**"...I trust you, Ki-Bo."** _

"Himiko! Maki!"

It was the memory when his 'Inner Voice' commanded him to save his friends. He knew that it came from the Outside World, but this is different! The voices he is hearing were not the people from the Outside World, but it's the voices of his friends! And they're telling him not to fall from Despair, not to this robot who was entitled as the Ultimate Hope!

 _**"Live for us!"** _

"Shuichi..."

Ki-Bo felt warmth, a good kind of warmth. The light is so warm that he wanted to reach his hand out, it's like he's catching a firefly.

He remembers it, he remembered this feeling inside him.

"My friends...I'm coming! I'm coming!" Ki-Bo cried out as he stretches his arm more, he has to reach the light!

The feeling to live on, even in Despair.

It's Hope!

He's almost there! His friends must have been waiting for him at the light, all he had to do was to reach it further!

Ki-Bo can finally get the light up close. The light shines brightly as it took over the darkness, as well as Despair itself.

This is it.

The light had already engulfed Ki-Bo as he felt a gust of wind blowing through him, and then -

 **"Gwheah!"**

And then he felt a hard impact from his body? That's not right, not right at all.

His technological vision is blurry that he has to refocus his...'camera lens' just to see what happened to him, yet, he wanted not to see it.

* * *

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* * *

From his point of view, all he could see is the familiar sight of a ceiling. A ceiling that came from the hallway, the Ultimate Academy's hallway.

"Where did the light go?" Ki-Bo asked himself while staring at what it seems to be sunlight shining through his 'eyes', he brushed his free hand when he inspected where he landed on. It was cold and hard, but smooth at the same time. There's no doubt about it, it's the hallway's floor.

Now that's weird, how did that happen?

"What...happened to me?" He asked again as he tried to stand up and move, but his legs were shaking. The robot balanced himself a little while holding his head as if he's dizzy, which is a human thing for a robot like Ki-Bo to feel any seizures as such.

Ki-Bo looked at his hands, they were metallic. That's it.

"I must have been dreaming..." Ki-Bo covered his eyes, his mind is still numb from...whatever happened to him and his 'dream'. Which is also weird, robots can't - Okay, that's a little bit robophobic, don't ya think? To be honest, what he had is a nightmare! Seriously, he got executed and his friends got killed. Surely, it's a dream that you wanted to wake up from.

He removed his hands from his eyes, the robot still sees the empty hallway. The floor he stepped on and the illuminating light, it's all real.

Everything that happened to him was nothing more but illusions, dreams. That's right. Thank goodness, he woke up from that scary dream!

Maybe those people he met were also illusions, the Ringleader of the so-called 'Killing Game' must have been an illusion too. Even those 'characters' named Tsumugi Shirogane, Maki Harukawa, Himiko Yumeno, and Shuichi Saihara were just some imaginary people in his databanks...he must have been malfunctioning or something. Of course, they're not real!

Ki-Bo sighed in relief, despite robots can't exactly or necessarily 'breathe'. At least he woke up in the real world, that's all that mattered to him.

"Yes, it's just a dream...No...It's a nightmare..."

 _"Or is it, Ultimate Hope?"_

His head snapped up, "Huh?!"

 _"So, you think that execution of yours was a nightmare? You're still stupid than I remembered from you!"_

Where did that voice coming from?! He looked around, but no one was there. Not even the television speakers, it was turned off the whole time.

"W-what are you saying?! Who are you?!"

 _"That question again? I'll give you a hint: Team Danganronpa"_

"Team...Danganronpa?!" That name, he heard that name before. It's the one that...happened in his execution... But did it really happen?

"The Inner Voice...The Outside Word..." Ki-Bo placed his hand over his head, the voice must have been inside of it. Should he believe in them? Did the dream he had was real?

 _"Come on, Ki-Bo! Of course, you remember it! It already happened to you last time!"_

"It's just a dream! I refuse to believe this! I know everything happened to me was nothing but a nightmare! You don't have any evidence to prove it! You are not even real!" The robot yelled to wherever he could face. One person in Ki-Bo's dream had told him that the voices he heard were the people from the 'Outside World', and they were scary because of what they did to him. The numbing pain from the arm that he got shot from, he could still feel it.

 _"Feisty one, aren't you? You want evidence, I'll give you evidence! Surely, you'll remember what we did if our robot gets in our way, right?"_

"What do you mean?"

Suddenly, a surge of electricity went inside his body. Ki-Bo didn't expect that to happen when he tried to control himself from jerking around, he grabbed his head when the familiar feeling of excruciating pain creeping through his brain.

Then, from his vision, numerous strange images flashed into his eyes. Pictures that he'd never experienced before, but they all looked familiar. It's as if, it did happen, but he doesn't know when. Seeing them hurts his head even further.

"Gh! ...Ah...ARGH! Ahh! Wha...What is this! What are you doing?!" He cried as he clutched his head even tighter, even going to pull his synthetic hair just to stop the pain.

 _"It's better if you find that out on your own. Try and remember, Ki-Bo."_

"I...I refuse! ...Whatever you're trying to do to me...I refuse! ...They're not...They're not real..."

He feels weak from the torture he's experiencing, his knees buckled and the robot collapsed on the floor. The current was still invading his circuitry, and it hurts every second.

"It...hurts...It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"

Why did those words feel like he said that before?

 _"Looks like I have to increase the voltage just for you to be obedient."_

Ki-Bo begged, "What?! N-no! D-d-don't! Please...Don't!"

 _"Now. Ki-Bo, Ultimate Hope..._ **REMEMBER!** _"_

"NO! PLEASE!"

Too late to beg now, those voltages inside his body just went haywire. The next thing he knew, he was screaming uncontrollably. He can't control it anymore, it's like everything explodes within him.

"Hngh! ...Hah!...Ahh! NNNGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

* * *

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* * *

 **I...remember it...**

Of course, he remembers it.

All of it was just for show.

It would be unfair to reject it considering he remembered his DEAD FRIENDS on it!

 ** Oh, why did I even reject these memories? **

**Have I been...afraid?**

He is afraid.

Afraid of seeing his friend's skull cracked, turned into a skeleton painfully, losing the connection of their spinal cord and brain, strangled to death in two worlds, and having his dying body slowly crushed.

 **I remembered them...**

 **I'm such an idiot...**

He remembered being a witness of his friend's hanging and getting her body desecrated further into pulp, the person who wanted to save selflessly had to go through a death trap that ends of losing the will to live any further, an peculiar man who loves humanity getting banished into existence twice in a row, the gentleman facing the brutal irony of something that he loved, and the man who faces death with full dignity.

 **How could I ever forget them?!**

The most painful memory he ever had was losing everything, all because of his existence. The three people he tried to save ended up brainwashed and betray him, the Outside World being filled with mean people who want to kill other humans, even discovering his first Despair.

The Despair of Loneliness.

But it's not like this happened ONCE though.

* * *

 **Would you like to** SAVE **this story?**

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* * *

The pain suddenly faded, Ki-Bo opened his eyes to see himself curling on the floor. He 'felt' exhausted from whatever happened to him, the robot was even sweating excessively!

He attempted to get up, but he's weak to stand that he knelt down instead just to regain some thoughts from his...torturous experience. He placed a hand over his chest, there's no heartbeat considering he's a robot, but it's a way just to calm himself. Without the scary voice inside his head, he can finally think of something from what happened. But the voice did had a point, it's a bad thing to reject those...images that he saw. It's also a bad thing to accept that what happened to him was nothing but a nightmare because it's real.

Everything is real.

And he finally remembers it.

"I...remember..." Ki-Bo muttered over his lips, his voice already showed the tone of fear. The robot looked at his hands once more, they were shaking like wild.

"I remember...everything...what I've done...in the past!" He embraced himself in a lonely hug, trying to stay calm.

"...I-I-I remembered...trying to save them...and then failed..." But his voice sounded like he was sobbing.

"Again...and again...and again..." Ki-Bo remembered what happened to him.

"I remember...what I was trying to do...I remember...who I am..." He remembered who he was and what he was, and he remembered his true role in this story.

One that might give a jump from anyone.

 **"I'm a Time Traveler."**

* * *

 **Interactive Segment: Unscramble the acronym for the 'Secret Ending' Chapter Title**

OSNTTHLPRET

 **Answer:**

RNSETLPTHTO

 **Full Acronym:**

RNSE. TLP. THTO

"Renaissance Time Loop Thirty One"

* * *

"How can a simple Lie change the world? Did it changed on who we are? Did it changed on how the world is supposed to be? Whatever's on the other side of the world, this fiction world, we'll know for sure. Whatever we're going to do next, even if it's a little change, this story will go on….Fiction will never end, it will instead continue."

\- Shuichi Saihara, Ultimate Detective (Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony)

* * *

 **Author's Note (Please read):**

[I would also like to thank Cyonil for helping in giving the V3 cast's "encouraging lines" in this chapter.]

Hello, everyone. And welcome to the true Twist of 'The Ultimate Punishment, I'm so sorry if this thing isn't the one you'll expect on a 'What If' scenario. I actually had to flesh all of the words in my head, I can't believe I reached ten thousand and fifty two words for this secret ending. I'm so gonna get sued by the readers for doing this story...To be honest, I'm really scared right now.

So, we'll go to explanations.

I actually made this concept on Tumblr, my username is trishiabidaure there. This thing is inspired by HetaOni, Hetalia is one of my fandoms but Danganronpa and Boboiboy is my current fandom as of now. So the whole time travelling aspect came from Italy Veneziano, I would rather call him as Feliciano Vargas though, who is also a time traveler who tried to save his friends from Steve for who knows how many times, some people said that he went through 82 time loops or something like that. I actually had a 'blueprint' of the 'plot' on my notebook.

To be honest, this isn't the first time travelling fanfiction I wrote. I also have this multicrossover fanfiction called 'GiaOni: Gears of Time'. It's on hiatus, unfortunately. But I'm still working on a chapter.

Now the question is, why did I performed the 'What if' story first before I showed the true twist?

I actually wanted to focus on Ki-Bo's point of view in this story, since we already saw Kaede and Shuichi's point of view and less to Maki and Himiko, so does Ki-Bo when he was revealed as the In-Universe Protagonist.

Not only that, I wanted to try and show Ki-Bo's experiences as a Time Traveler. Because we mostly see a pattern in both HetaOni and Puella Magi Madoka Magica, The Vocaloid Night Series, Higurashi, and Umineko (I'm sure that there's more), we see the pattern of not revealing the intentions of the time traveler and then we saw who they were and how they went throughout the series. And from what we saw from the time travelers, it's a really not good experience. Seeing their friends get killed and had to go back again and again just to save them no matter what, it's traumatic!

I already read some Danganrona V3 fanfictions that had the tags of 'Time Loop' or 'Time Travelling' on it, there's Rantaro, Kokichi, Shuichi, and Maki. They're the first four characters who were in a Time Travelling fanfiction, and they're in Archive On Our Own right now. And why did I put 'Renaissance' on it? It means Rebirth, basically.

I think there are some people who thinks that Ki-Bo could qualify as a Time Traveler because he's a robot...also he died by self destruction. I performed the 'execution first and then the truth' because I wanted to show that Ki-Bo also went through traumatic experiences in his previous time loops, HE WENT THROUGH THIRTY ONE TIME LOOPS FOR GOODNESS SAKES! He would have fallen to Despair, but his friends helped him to keep on going and pursue in saving his friends from the horrible cycle. HOPEFULLY, I was able to execute this Secret Ending well and I'm sorry that I somehow 'tricked' you into thinking that this is a 'What If' ending story, I'm really really sorry.

 **You know about Shuichi saying that Fiction will continue?**

 **I'm continuing this story. So, stay tuned for that. I actually needed some help when it comes to portraying the V3 casts, since...they're there and alive of course. So I needed some tips or advises on how the characters speak like so and so! But there are times when I will do something different from them, so be prepared for that.**


	6. THE ULTIMATE CLASS RESURRECTION

Hello, viewers. Before you read this chapter, I just want to say thank you for the positive reviews. It really touched my heart, I almost cried. And thank you Fallenstreet01 for suggesting 'Steins;Gate', hopefully this would help me in writing. I really appreciate it.

* * *

 **Warning:**

 **This story is contained with spoilers from Danganronpa V3. If you have not watched it, move away now.**

 **As part of an experiment, this story will decrease the use of 'Swearing'.**

 **Starting THIS CHAPTER up until the end (if ever that happens), there will be some 'Breaking but not completely breaking the Fourth Wall' aspect. Whatever happens in the story will remain in the story.**

 **Just like the theme of 'Hope vs Despair' and 'Truth vs Lies', this story will follow the theme of 'Forgiveness vs Punishment'**

 **Please read the Author's Note for further announcements.  
**

 **Appearances/Mentions of Team Danganronpa (As of Chapter 5):**

 **Izuru Kamakura - Founder**

 **Makoto Naegi - Director**

 **Hajime Hinata - Second Unit Director**

 **Juzo Sakakura - Head Security**

 **Kyosuke Munakata - Actor**

 **Chisa Yukizome - Actress**

 **Kazuichi Soda - Construction Team Head**

 **Kiyotaka Ishimaru - Security**

 **Mondo Owada - Security**

 **Mahiru Koizumi - Camera**

 **Ryota Mitarai - Editor (Retired)**

 **Ryoko Otonashi / Junko Enoshima - Head Editor**

 **Chihiro Fujisaki - System Administrator**

 **Mikan Tsumiki - Medical Team Head**

 **Yasuhiro Hagakura - Media Agent**

 **Chiaki Nanami - Technical Director**

* * *

They say that the world was created within seven days by the so-called 'God'.

God had created Light and Darkness, Sea and Sky, then the Land. Followed by Plants, Stars, then the Creatures of the Sea and the Sky, to the Creatures of the Earth.

And then, before the last day, God created the Humans according to his own image. He created the Man and the Woman, Adam and Eve.

On the seventh day, He took a rest after that.

Now, you're going to ask me: 'Why were you talking about the creation of the world? Aren't you supposed to make an episode?'

My answer is: 'I WAS GETTING INTO THAT! CAN'T YOU BE PATIENT JUST FOR ONCE?!'

Moving forward to our time, our world...is a horrid mess. One that you might feel utter disgust with.

Oh wait, am I hearing about 'The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event In Human History' you say? Well, sometimes I wish that Tragedy exist in our world and not this one.

I know I look like an idiot for a director who played as the first Ultimate Hope in _Danganronpa_ history, but I'm just stating some 'facts' around the world we're living in right now.

Ever since I was born, I'm starting to hate this world.

You know why? It's the Humanity's fault!

I know, I know. You already heard me saying about those idiot beings, but you can't deny the truth that you're also disgusted on the actions that the Humans commit. And I mean, THEIR CRIMES AGAINST THE WORLD.

The Humans, born with the combination of both the man's and the woman's DNA, are the only creatures to have the ability to think in order to live. Unlike the animals, who relied on instincts much.

But, alas, the Human Intelligence had been misused by so many. And to think that the animals were ones that are 'inhumane', but there's someone worse from that!

What am I talking about? I'm talking about robbery, physical assault, war, scams, corruption, bullying...even going far to the Murder itself. Humanity had 'devolved' into the most disgusting demons we could ever imagine.

To this day...This is where Team Danganronpa had given birth.

The Media is one of the most powerful tools of communication, using its different kinds of methods in sending a single message to the entire world. The Millennium time had relied on the new media solely for the conveniences of the audience, so we come aboard to the bandwagon.

 _Danganronpa_ meant as 'Bullet Refutation' in the Japanese language. The bullet itself is an ammunition of a gun, a weapon that can take down opponents with just a pull of the trigger to the weakest spot that a Human has ever exposed; Their brain. Once you were hit by the bullet, you're gone. The gun has been commonly used in crimes and murders all over the world, _Danganronpa_ dedicated the bullet to the new justice system. In which to the Millennials, our words can also show power and fear like the gun itself.

* * *

 _ **Danganronpa's true goal is to resonate Humanity's corrupted actions; think, recognize, and possibly resolve the internal crisis within oneself and to the whole world.**_

 _ **In short, its mission was to save Humanity from their stupidity before they could hurt someone.**_

* * *

This is the EXACT SAME method when it comes to Children Shows or those disturbing Public Service Announcements on television. A character did something bad, the plot stops the character in doing that by scaring the HECK out of them to prevent them in proceeding, the character learns their lesson, then comes the happy end. And so, we shall follow it.

 _Trigger Happy Havoc_ is the first Danganronpa show that was ever released, showing how the Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event In Human History could bring Despair to the viewers. That Despair would immediately give the recognition on the bad thing what they've done to themselves and the others, it _(was supposed to be according to this plan)_. Within the show's climax itself, Hope follows when the character was able to think and resolve the main issue to the plot. The audiences will also learn their lesson, and _(hopefully)_ they would do something for themselves.

But by the time the audiences watched Danganronpa, all they think about was whether or not be a sequel instead of learning something from the show.

And so, _Goodbye Despair_ came. A second attempt for the Humanity to think of what they've done to this world, even going as far as placing the characters that the actors played as if they were the bad guys of the series. The Ultimate Despair, an organization founded by the Despair Sisters, whose role is to spread worldwide Despair to the whole world. The Ultimate Despair had committed horrible crimes in-universe, we technically hoped that the audience could see what they were doing.

And again, it didn't work. The audiences demanded more _Danganronpa_ , so the Team followed what the viewers demanded to.

It goes on and on, they even created _Ultra Despair Girls_ and _The End of Hope's Peak Academy_. But they just kept on coming, they wanted more and more because they 'love' _Danganronpa_. In fact, they even wanted to be on the show. They wanted to be heroes or villains as they dreamed to be.

As much as the Team wanted to find a way to use the new justice system, they had no choice but to use _Danganronpa_ being the only way to serve justice for the crimes Humanity had committed.

 _Danganronpa_ became the longest-running television show in the media world. Auditions had been proposed, interviews had been discussed, and casts had been gathered. The show went on at the start of _Danganronpa 4_ , _Danganronpa 5_ , _Danganronpa 6_ , then _Danganronpa 7_ , _Danganronpa 8_ , _Danganronpa 9_ , _Danganronpa 10_...up until to _Killing Harmony_.

From that point on, the true goal of _Danganronpa_ has ceased to exist and it was replaced by fictional entertainment instead.

But I don't care anyway, this is what the people wanted about _Danganronpa_. We're just giving what they wanted.

I always heard that the interviews always have the same reason for joining the show over and over. They either wanted to be famous or just wanted to kill people, the same old reason for every season of this media.

Because of this, the government had declared that the _Danganronpa_ show to be the new justice system in the country. And this is where Hell comes loose for those who know _Danganronpa_ , whether they love it or not.

Unlike the past four shows, the killings were real. From the blood they smell, to the excruciating execution they will ever experience.

Our world has been surrounded by corrupted people, the ones who wanted to drag people down to their knees and sent them to the lowest of the low. The Innocents were obviously hurt or worse, get killed. The people were in rage whenever there were those kinds of incidents around them because it gave them fear. And because of that fear, the Corrupted Humans are getting stronger and stronger. They will hurt everyone that gets in their way with no mercy, much like bullying from the Outside World.

And that's where people had enough, they demanded justice. A justice that gives them satisfaction from seeing their enemy fall and vengeance will now prevail. There is no such thing as a 'Second Chance' in the Millennial society, they wanted their oppressors to suffer as what the Innocents have been through because of them.

It's either a 'Kill or Be Killed' world or an 'Eye for an Eye' world out there.

Take your pick, I dare you.

* * *

"Fujisaki, status report!"

Chihiro jumped from my outburst, but he's quick when he typed the keyboard _(heh, keyboard and Ki-Bo sounded like rhymes)_ just to check the programming we 'installed' _(more like shoved up)_ to the robot. "Director Naegi, Ki-Bo showed no signs of malfunction inside his data." He reported to me aloud, I then nodded in confirmation before I turn to Hajime.

"Hajime, what's the current voltage?"

"Thirty-five thousand, and maybe it's best to stop it there!"

"Fine, then! Let's keep it that way!"

Hajime was looking to a voltmeter, which is connected to a wire that is connected to another wire to another and another. Most likely that it reached the door until to who knows where the measuring device is attached to _(and I'm not telling where it is)_.

"Ryoko?" I called her out by her name only, she knows what she's doing when she pushed a lever in the live switch.

"I'm going to re-send Ki-Bo's memories now!" She said as she pressed a button, which leads to the robot getting a bad electric shock inside his body.

The room was dark, and it was only illuminated by the bright spark of electricity from Ki-Bo himself. It's almost as if we're making Frankenstein in real life, a robotic Frankenstein to be specific.

My lips twitched as I witness the stupid robot getting grounded by the high voltage of electricity, his own body was flung around the floor! I had to cover my mouth just to stop myself from bursting into laughter, it's THAT funny to see the Ultimate Hope getting tortured like that. FOR THIRTY-ONE TIMES!

I was holding my microphone, which is currently turned off. The microphone has a different design than the others, it was black with bright blue linings around it. It's wireless, with an antenna that looked like...Ki-Bo's antenna-ahoge thingy. This device was specifically used to communicate the robot as the Inner Voice, and he's so gullible to think that I'm helping him survive! Provide with the audience survey, we use statistics to choose which is the best decision for Ki-Bo to do inside _V3_. So far, they've done successfully as the player character since Ki-Bo survived until 'Episode 13' so we could restart the clock for him.

Now I get what you're thinking: 'KI-BO IS A TIME TRAVELER?! YOU'RE SUCH A TROLL! HOW COME YOU DIDN'T TOLD US THIS?!'

Oh wow, I'm the troll in this story?! Well, it's your fault why you picked Despair in Chapter 3, dimwits! To be honest, you'll never get a happy ending when you picked Hope either. Because, you know, the rules of the game said so. I don't need to tackle on the rules again, search it on the Danganronpa Wiki yourselves.

Now let's get on with a simple explanation with Ki-Bo's time-traveling technology.

* * *

 **Project A.N.G.E.L and Project R.N.S.E**

You heard that right, Team Danganronpa had performed two projects. One for the robot itself, and one for the time-traveling. So we're gonna discuss both of them.

 **1\. Project A.N.G.E.L (Amnesty for Negligence of the Glorious Eternal Life)**

 _\- In short, it's just saying 'I am sorry for rejecting my existence', per se. This project is involved with the robot and his memories. Now, just because Ki-Bo is a time traveler, doesn't mean that he wouldn't be affected by the reset. Because every single timeline, the students' memories went back from the way before the Killing Game starts at every timeline, which includes the robot himself. So, we come up with a way for Ki-Bo not to get his memories erased by getting those copies before they get erased for the next loop. And to think that the robot pressed the 'Self-Destruct Button', but it wasn't. That's actually an alarm for us to get ready to copy his memories so we could shove it back to him again when he went to another loop afterward._

 **2\. Project R.N.S.E (Renaissance)**

 _\- This one is self-explanatory, really. It's about the time-traveling thing. The word 'Renaissance' means 'Rebirth' in French, much like resurrection. This involved with advanced technology to, I guess you could say, 'Resurrect' Ki-Bo's classmates at every time loop. And every successful loop, we recorded them as 'RNSE TLP'. If you're going to question how EXACTLY we used the advanced technology to make Ki-Bo time travel like that, then you reached the limit. That is highly classified information, so we're just going to stop there. The only thing you'll get from this information is that the time traveling takes effect within a specified radius, we don't want to get caught by the reset after all._

* * *

"Well, Team Danganronpa, Renaissance Time Loop Thirty One has been a success! WOOO!" I felt like I'm some insane man when I was the only one cheering in the room, while the others gave themselves a sigh of relief, almost to the point of slamming their heads down on the table and collapse from exhaustion.

The two projects were indeed hard to perform when we were doing it at the same time, only four people _(which is me, Hajime, Ryoko, and Chihiro)_ who are capable of maintaining it since they have connections to the other branches. We're talking about the technological, neurological, psychological, and holistic aspects here.

"I can't believe we have to do the 'Time Traveling' thing at nighttime..." _(the complaining)_ Hajime leaned on his chair, panting heavily and sweating excessively. Most probably because he was the one who had to run back and forth just to keep us in touch while having to hold the voltmeter that was connected to the main electric line at the basement _(also known as the physics lab)_ , he can't talk to us through cellphone or he'll be the one who'll get the thirty-five thousand volts instead.

"Makoto, if there's such thing as D-Mails, please text yourself not to make an episode in the evening!" I had to laugh at his remarks, it's been a while that I ever have a chuckle or two. I've been cranky, which is not a good thing for me.

Chihiro shook his hands by the time he removed his fingers to his keyboards, fast typing can give a sore to our System Administrator. Meanwhile, Ryoko looked at her wristwatch that reads 9:09 in the morning. To her surprise _(or not)_ , setting the Time Traveling to Ki-Bo sure took a long time to even commencing it.

Ryoko picked her cup that has decaffeinated coffee contained in it, she took a sip while walking to the light switch to at least brighten up the sad ambiance in the room. She then walked to the window that was covered by a curtain, Ryoko slightly open a flap of it to see outside of the building.

"Hmm...Looks like the Humans went back to their everyday lives." She murmured, I have to agree with her. It's as if the Riot didn't happen at all, I could even see it in the news. While the topic about the incident was there, traces of them were spotless. The compactor that was used in the execution was gone, and so do the...'corpses' of the four people who got shot to death.

This is also the work of the Team also. In theater or drama class or whatever, you have two jargon; Ingress and Egress. The word 'Ingress' points out when the production team placed their set pieces to their specific spot that was marked by the stage manager; while 'Egress' is where they take the set pieces out of the stage. In this case, Kazuichi _(or the whole Team Danganronpa)_ did the latter.

"In the end...What they saw wasn't real, they'll think of it as fiction instead. As always, that is." Chihiro sighed, and he was right. For a teenager, he does feel bad from the reality that the Humans perceived _Danganronpa_ from. Whatever happens on television, will remain there.

I placed the microphone on the desktop clip and reached for the script, that's until Hajime grabbed my hand before I get the chance to get it.

My eyes rolled for this cliche, first Ryoko and now Hajime?

"Oh no you don't, young man." Hajime picked up the script and threw it to Chihiro, which surprises the boy when he got involved from our shenanigans.

"What is it now, Hajime?" I asked, even though I know what he's going to say.

Ryoko walked towards me and Hajime, while Chihiro was shrinking to his seat. When he became a part of this quartet, Chihiro is just a tag-along kid, he was only there when we need him the most. And by most, I mean every single time and episodes. It's because, aside from Miaya Gekkogahara _(part of the construction team specified for technology)_ and Yasuke Matsuda _(part of the medical team specified for neurology)_ , he was given a job to keep an eye on Ki-Bo...ordered by yours truly. So, he has some ideas on how the three of us were dealing with some silly problems at hand. And yet, he's still jumpy about it.

"It's nap time, Makoto Naeggy. You've been cranky for two days now!" Ryoko nagged, and she even called me by the 'Egg' nickname!

My eyes twitched when I heard that nickname, "I'm not an Egg! Also, I have you know that I have caffeine in me. So I don't need any sleep at all!" I pouted like a kid to both Hajime and Ryoko. Whatever I said, it made Chihiro raised his hand a little bit.

"Well, Director. Coffee may have helped you in staying up, but it's bad if you drink too much."

"See? Even Chihiro knows sleep is the best medicine...aside from apples and laughter of course." Hajime placed his arms around my shoulders, it's to prevent me from looking at the screen. Much to my dismay, they want me to sleep and procrastinate my job as a director _(which it's not since they have concerns about me)_. He even started to drag me out of the room!

"Oh come on! I have to continue my work - " Ryoko suddenly yanked my arm hard, it's like a mother dragging a child out of the playground! She just completely dragged me out of the room, leaving Chihiro and Hajime behind to do whatever they're doing without me!

"Hajime will take care of it now, he's your Second Unit Director. And besides, look at your face!" She picked up her phone and activated her camera on selfie mode, she then faced her phone at my...ugly face.

Just so you know, I'm older than what Makoto Naegi looked like in _Trigger Happy Havoc_. I could only summarize that my face got heavy eye bags under them, my forehead is sweaty, my skin looked pale, and my lips were dried.

"You look nasty and cranky at the same time!"

"I'm not cranky!" I'm such a hypocrite in this.

"Well then, why you're raising your voice at me?" She just threw her Truth Bullet at me, blast!

It made me a little bit speechless at first since I was thinking of a reason why I yelled at her like that. "It's because...It's because I was stressed out from the episode! It's normal for a director to blow a fuse up once in a while." I answered with a bit of a boast in it, but Ryoko doesn't seem to like that answer.

"Oh geez, you always get stressed every episode we made. Seriously, you have to tone down with the coffee once in a while and get some sleep!"

I tried to rebut, except that the effects of caffeine started to happen. I'm starting to breathe shortly, my legs feel numb, and I just did the loudest yawn I've ever had! Ryoko just shook her head at what she's seeing right now, she's not really happy when she saw how irresponsible I am when it comes to health. Before I know it, I had my knees falling on the floor and almost collapsed if she hadn't helped me balanced.

"Believe me now, Makoto Naeggy?" Ryoko still teased me with that nickname!

"I'm not an Egg! I'm an Omelet!" What did I say just now? I must have been losing my senses a bit, even Ryoko found it hilarious. From what I remembered, that 'Egg' nickname came from the _Danganronpa_ viewers...who thought that my surname was a pun of the egg. While I find it stupid, Hajime and Ryoko preferred it because they also got nicknames from the viewers also; like Orange Juice _(Hajime somehow preferred that nickname instead of Pokezuru Facakura)_ and the Despair Lord.

Oh how I missed those times before _V3_ even existed, I even wished that I got the stupid robot's time traveling so I can turn back time...

"Look, Makoto. You have two choices; the Easy Way or the Hard Way." She asked me while pulling an object in her hand that I have to groan from, a tranquilizer. You see, when Ryoko cares too much, she'll do what it takes just for us to relax even if it means using the tranquilizer to knock us out. Either me or Hajime to be exact, mostly me, unfortunately.

"Every time you asked me that same old question, it's always the Hard Way." I rolled my eyes despite it stings to even blink.

"That's because you forced me to do it anyway."

"Oh come on, sleep is just for the lazy ones! And besides, I take naps when I have free time."

"One minute nap."

"It still counts."

"It's not enough to have a minute nap, Egg. You were supposed to have a fifteen-minute nap, or even longer."

"Are we gonna talk longer than this?"

"Yes."

Ryoko facepalmed, she obviously knew that I'm just stalling her so I wouldn't get knocked out by her tranquilizer. You see, that thing is a very strong compound made by Mikan and Seiko Kimura _(a part of the medical team who stepped down as the Head before)_ , it'll knock anyone out for hours or even days or weeks _(and would also kill a person if the user gave them a wrong dose, sheesh)_.

"But seriously, I don't need naps! It'll be like procrastinating!" I crossed my arms and leaned myself on the wall _(only because my legs started to grow even weaker and I don't want to show Ryoko that I'm losing my balance)_.

But she noticed that I'm going to pass out, she yanked my arm because of it. "You're not procrastinating. You're just taking a break," she said to me while dragging me in the hallway, I'm still using my strength to win this tug of war though.

"It's the same thing as slacking off!"

"You're not slacking off!"

"But that's what Mr. Kamukura sees anyway!"

"Mr. Kamukura?" Ryoko blinked as she let go of my arm, surprised by the name I mentioned. Despite the three of us continuing our daily work, she has some concerns about what happened in the meeting. This includes when Hajime and I almost started a fight, and Mr. Kamukura was ticked on our actions. To be honest, I do feel bad on what I did. Bad enough to...punish myself for it.

And because Ryoko got the role of being the Ex-Ultimate Analyst in _Zero_ , she just figured out the reason for my abnormal sleeping patterns.

That reason caused her to have a slight outburst, "You didn't sleep because of that old man?!"

I took a step back, "W-w-well...It's not exactly like that - "

"Then why would you treat yourself like the bad guy that deserved to be punished?! You didn't do anything wrong."

"Of course, I did! I almost beat Hajime up, he's still mad about it!"

"He's not mad, Makoto. You're just being paranoid."

"It's the truth" My voice begins to crack, "I can't believe I humiliated Team Danganronpa from what I did! I almost killed a ton of people outside! And I lost my temper to even punch my friend!"

"Look, we all have our own faults last time. I'm sure they'll forgive you, even Hajime. He's more concerned about you than himself." Even though what she said was _(somehow true)_ , I believe that my friend was lying just to make me feel better. It's always like that, but I know she was lying.

"Come on, Ryoko! Stop with the lies already!"

"Wha- lying?! I'm not ly -"

"nnnnnNNNNNNNNOooOooooo!" I yelled at her, but it...doesn't sound like a shout when it sounded so weird. Believe me, I tried to. The caffeine was getting stronger that I couldn't even breathe right. It made even worse when my voice was cracking, Ryoko even noticed the dissonance of my speech.

I took so many deep breaths, but it wasn't enough to get so much oxygen. My nose was even clogged, and I don't know why I couldn't breathe through it at this moment. And then comes to my eyes stinging even more painful, especially when my vision started to blur. It's like there's hot water on them or something.

"You're crying."

I looked at Ryoko for a second. Soon, I feel something warm crawling down to my face. It took me a while to realize that they're tears flowing on my eyes, I even had to catch a teardrop to see it if it's true.

Oh darn it, I really am crying.

This is getting out of hand, and I don't want to waste time on either sleeping or crying. None of those exists in the workplace. I rubbed my face with my sleeve, just to remove the water on my face. I looked like a dumb kid crying because his ice cream fell on the ground, this is so immature...

From my surprise, Ryoko placed her hand on my shoulder. Her eyes bore 'pity' to me, and I don't like that.

"Come on, Makoto. You need to rest."

But I brushed off her shoulders, "No. I'm going back to work. Don't worry about me...I'll be fine!"

I took a few steps away from Ryoko, except if ever that's her in my eyes. It's getting darker any minute now, I'm at my limit.

Ryoko reached out her hand as she tried to get closer, "But - "

"It's okay..."

Must...resist! I can't pass out!

"It's gonna be...okay..."

And that's when I can't see completely, all I could see is pitch black darkness. After that, I just felt something hard on my back and...I just stopped moving.

The sound of the thud made both Hajime and Chihiro ran out of the room to see whatever was going on. By the time they reached our location, the two only see my unconscious body while was Ryoko pinching her nose in dismay. Chihiro had to hold his screams, and Hajime had to hold his laughter at the result.

"How many dosages you gave Makoto this time?" Hajime asked as a snarky joke _(and was glad that it wasn't him this time around)_ , but Ryoko didn't take it well.

"Very funny, Orange Juice." She said sarcastically while reaching both of my legs, "Now help me bringing this Egg downstairs."

Chihiro raised his hand, "Um...do you need my help, Ryoko?"

"You'll be our navigator, I can't look what's behind me when I'm carrying Makoto, after all."

Hajime mustered his strength to lift my arms, Ryoko started to walk backwards while carrying my legs. Chihiro was in the most front to navigate my friends in leading me...somewhere away from the main room.

By the time they reached the elevator _(which is ironic, they said downstairs after all)_ , they put me down on the floor as they take a break. I never knew that I was somehow heavy to be lifted, I guess I forgot that I was lighter in _Trigger Happy Havoc_.

Meanwhile, Chihiro had been fidgeting with the show's script. It's either he's getting involved in a very awkward situation or he has something in mind.

Hajime noticed the boy's actions, "Chihiro?"

"Hm?" He looked at Hajime blankly.

"Are you alright? You've been spacing out."

Chihiro blinked in surprise, his emotions rushed into him. He was being asked by a higher-up, and he's still jumpy about it.

"Well...Is Makoto alright?" Chihiro asked without stuttering.

"He's fine." Ryoko answered, "Makoto just went a little too much on the coffee."

"He drank four liters of them, he never even shared." Hajime leaned on the wall while poking my _(wrinkling)_ cheeks.

Chihiro read some of the texts written in the show's script, "I was wondering...about him..."

"Why's that?" Ryoko asked.

"After the meeting about the Riot, Makoto looks...upset."

"All of us were upset about what happened, Chihiro." Hajime reminded the boy about the incident that caused me to become like this.

"I know that, it's just...well..."

"Come on, Chihiro. You can say anything to the two - "

"Three."

Hajime rolled his eyes of getting reminded by Ryoko, "Three of us. You don't have to worry of what you're going to say, we'll understand."

Chihiro looked at Ryoko, Hajime, and me _(even though I passed_ _out)_.

According to the character that he portrayed when he was in acting, the Ex-Ultimate Programmer was a shy young boy who dressed up as a girl in disguise. His 'death' was the cause of having his...'Hope' sparked up when Chihiro's secret was used as a murder motive, which is sad really. Right after his acting, the show must have inspired him to be 'stronger' and more helpful in real life. He looked up to his role models, even going as far as to become a higher-up as a System Administrator in the first place. And here he is now, standing beside an elevator with two people stuck in a silly situation along with a knocked out director.

Surely, it would seem a big humiliation that the three of us were somehow his 'role models' and acted like this. But...I don't think he was concerned about that.

"Don't you think Makoto took things too hard that he...punishes himself for it?"

Hajime blinked when he heard that question about me, even his snarky posture diminished at the word 'Punish'.

There are two different meanings of the word 'Punishment', but it's still a bad word and they can do bad things.

 **'Punishment'** as a meaning of _Danganronpa_ series itself, one that is defined as a _'Payment of the penalty in breaking the rules as Society demands it'_. This counted as an Execution in our show, wherein the character that each actor or participant played will be eliminated from the Killing Game. It's more of an 'Extravagant Exit', to be exact.

On the other hand, the word **'Punishment'** in the real world society is...something beyond that. For most people, it basically meant _'An act of Reckless Redemption to receive Forgiveness to the Society'_. Meaning, when you did something wrong and you think everything was all your fault, you did what you have to do to gain Forgiveness. And it's not just the 'I'm Sorry' line, no. It's more of the 'I'm sorry and I will prove it' thing, you have to give proof that you mean to say that 'Sorry' word. You will do whatever it takes to get that Forgiveness, and I mean you have to do it to the EXTREME.

Even if it means humiliating yourself in front of the public, even if it means losing someone you're close to, or even if it means beating yourself up, you HAVE TO gain Forgiveness. Because Forgiveness is like a glass, a lonely and fragile glass. Once you break the glass into pieces, you will have to pick up every single one of them to put the glass back together. No matter how much cuts you gained from the shards or how alone you were, you will sacrifice everything for it.

If you don't, you might never know what will happen if other people stepped on them.

"What a...huge word you said there, Chihiro..." Hajime responded when he suddenly spaced out from the word. It's indeed a huge word for someone from Team Danganronpa to even say it, I guess you could say it's similar when you said a bad word in front of your parents. Sure, they would be shocked if you said the F-Word while you're still 12 years old!

Having a bad aura around him, Chihiro hung his head in shame. "I...I'm sorry...I was worried about Makoto and - "

"Hey." He felt Ryoko's warm hand placed on his shoulders. "It's alright for you to get worried about your friends, even Makoto. While I'm not aware of that Egg punishing himself about the Riot, he must have done it with a reason. Remember, he's the director of Team Danganronpa now. Having that job is a big responsibility, right?"

Chihiro nodded while looking to Ryoko's eyes.

Hajime walked closer to the boy _(while ignoring the fact that I was still KNOCKED OUT!)_ , "We all have jobs too, you know? I'm the Second Unit Director, Ryoko's the Head Editor, and you're the System Administrator of the Team. We all have achievements...and disappointments also."

"Sure...we all have our own faults before the Riot, and it seems that Makoto must have taken all our wrongdoings from that."

The feeling of being in my shoes must have given a pang to Chihiro, but I'm not sure that it was out of pity or he really does care about me.

"Look, Chihiro. I know you're worried about him. We're all worried about him." She looked at Hajime and me with a solemn look on her face. "And we wanted to make sure that Makoto's alright in whatever he's doing, but perhaps he noticed that and he wanted us not to feel any pity."

This is true, I don't want anyone to pity me. I have my reasons why, but I'm not telling.

"I think it's best for us to do our best in our job...and probably ho-, I mean pray for his well being. We probably even have to give him some space right after this." Hajime murmured the last line while looking at my unconscious self.

"He's not gonna take this well."

And that's where the doors of the elevator opened.

* * *

 **THE ULTIMATE CLASS RESURRECTION  
**

* * *

Spank!

"Ow!"

Spank!

"Yeowch! Son of a - "

Another spank!

"Gah! This is humiliating..."

Another spank!

"Kyah!"

And another spank!

"OUCH! Why in the world did I ever spank you?! Oh wait, you're made up of metal! Puhuhuhuhu! How silly of me forgetting my cub that way?" Said the one the person -, er, thing...Technically, the 'thing' wasn't made of flesh and blood at all, but rather, metal and faux fur fabric over it.

This may have sounded like the speaker was inanimate, which is one hundred percent true.

To be specific, those objects were teddy bears.

Yes, teddy bears. Ordinary, inanimate, yet moving teddy bears.

Which is crazy considering if you're one of the audiences who had no idea whatever the heck was going on!

It goes like this.

You, an Ultimate student, woke up in a locker on a 'school' with no ideas of how you got inside in the first place. Then some small multicolored bear cubs appeared, which you were told to proceed to the gymnasium. But then you realized that there are other fourteen students with the same situation, they don't know how they got here. They just...did.

By the time you came to the gymnasium, some 'High-Performance Action Humanoid Murder Weapon' called the 'Exisals' that were controlled by those cubs, literally scared everyone, or some of them, to bits considering the word 'Murder' was in the name.

If you questioned one of the riders, who were keeping the suspense waiting until one of them just answered straightforwardly, it's this word that made the fifteen jump.

 _ **"The Killing Game Semester"**_

Yes, that's right. They heard it loud and clear, 'The Killing Game Semester'. The word 'Kill' meant to say as _'taking someone's life'_ or _'to slaughter'_.

With the word like that, it's hard to believe when those Exisal riding cubs weren't taking that 'Kill' word seriously when two rivaling cubs almost engaged a fight with the students will get caught within the crossfire if they weren't called off by a mysterious voice telling them to stop.

On the stage, emerges another bear, one bigger than the other five in which they called them as their 'Father'. Colored with nothing but white and black on both sides, the young man dressed in a military attire commented the bear was coded with the sinister of madness and Despair. The blue-haired bespectacled girl was getting a harder time having some insights on 'the stuffed animal', until the 'Papa Bear' introduced himself as **'Monokuma'**.

Everything seemed to be on script when Monokuma was expecting the students to be gathered in the gym, so he can announce 'The Killing Game Semester' to spread fear, intimidation, and Despair to the fifteen students of the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles...

That's until he counted them. Nevertheless, he was expecting to be in the right number.

Sixteen.

Fast forward to where the Fifteen students with fifteen different facial expressions. Watching something...'compromising' in front of the gymnasium stage.

They could either have the expression of fear and confusion like the barefooted man who never cut his hair.

Having the emotion of utter disappointment similar to the young girl with a backpack having her arms crossed, though the one beside her was drooling when she couldn't take her eyes of the small bear cubs getting their butt slapped by the big bear as if witnessing this...'show' is her aphrodisiac that the disappointed girl had to close the other's mouth before she ended up dirtying the floor with her saliva.

Some would remain calm, like the young man with messy green hair looked...calm. A little too calm when the others were panicking on whatever was going on right now, one would even wonder of his thoughts. Kind of...mysterious for him to act like that...

Others...Well, they seem not to care about what they're watching right now and are more focused on 'The Killing Game Semester'.

The backpacked girl got enough stress to place a hand to her head just to ease the pain. "Just...what the heck is going on right now..." She asked herself before looking down and seeing drools on the floor, she took a step back from the one who caused the saliva to flow from her mouth.

It took minutes for this...'awkward' segment to finally subside as the multi-colored cubs were gently rubbing their bottoms from all the spanking, despite they're just inanimate objects though.

"Awww! My dear children got hurt because of me? You're so cute that I couldn't help it!" The monochrome bear said while wiping his 'sweat', seems like he has more work when it comes to showing 'discipline' to his children. "But I know what you've done, so I have to do what a good father does best! Puhuhuhuhu! I know it's a little bit boring since this is a very cliche type of 'old aged' discipline like 'hitting your child's rump with a whip' technique, be glad that I was gentle with you Kubs! We're in the Millennial age, such barbaric discipline is against the law now!"

"Ahem."

The sound made Monokuma turned to the source of the sound, the mysterious green-haired teen stepped forward.

"Sorry to interrupt your, well, 'Family Business', but I have something to clarify from you. Since you ARE the Headmaster after all, maybe you have the answer I needed." He asked the bear.

Monokuma doesn't seem to mind being asked by the student...especially the teen has the guts to take a step forward just to get closer contact with the Headmaster of the Ultimate Academy. "Sure, sure! Come on and ask! It's not like we have all day, and I meant to say that literally." The bear muttered the last line, he did say 'literally'.

"Aside from this 'Killing Game Semester', you mentioned the number sixteen. What was that all about? Why do you go off-topic all of a sudden?"

As much the bear doesn't show facial expressions much like the Humans do, he does seem to get ticked by the number sixteen. "Well, if you hadn't noticed why I was 'disciplining' my beloved children...it's because ONE STUDENT isn't here yet!" Monokuma exclaimed from the whole class, in which the cubs get shaken by the raising of their father's voice.

"Oh no! Father is angry at us!" Cried the bear cub in red and white.

"P-please don't get mad Papa!" The cub in pink begged her father to calm down, "Perhaps there is a reason why the sixteenth student is so late - "

But it was cut off by the one wearing glasses and is covered with the color yellow with stripes painted on one side, "Or stupid enough to kill themselves before 'The Killing Game Semester' even started!"

The blue cub with an electric guitar seemed to be in a temper when he raised the instrument towards the robot-like cub in green and metal, "It's that ding-dang-son-of-a-gun Monodam! He didn't check all of the lockers in the first place!"

Even the students were intrigued about that kind of news, which is also worrisome since they already got one trouble they have to deal with.

"A 'sixteenth student'?" Asked by a young woman who is wearing in a maid uniform asked in concern.

With the word is called out, the girl who has a green pinwheel bow on her head prepared herself in a fighting stance. "I will teach a lesson if the 'sixteenth student' was being a degenerate all along!" she cried aloud which startled a young girl who is dressed in red with a witch's hat.

"Haahhh...This is really getting out of hand..." The small girl muttered in a monotone voice.

"So you're telling me that someone's not here yet, and you knew it just now before you're going to say something about this stupid prank?!" The man dressed in purple with a goatee raised his voice, truly vexed when he believed that everything that happened around here was just a joke.

"Geez, are you even SURE there's such thing as the sixteenth student or you're just continuing to mess with us?" The...man who is a lot of inches short, bit his black candy stick when he has his doubts about the 'sixteenth student'.

"Of course, there is such thing as a 'sixteenth student'!" Monokuma yelled at the students who thought that he was lying, much like the whole 'Killing Game Semester' prank does. But he's a bear of words, he would never lie about that!

"But if there's such thing as a 'sixteenth student', should we look for them?" The blue-haired girl with glasses asked, "Maybe they got lost in the school or something."

"Or dead!" The young boy in white said in a gleeful voice while smiling, which is not helping in the situation for the girl dressed in black and red.

"Shut up, you're not helping." She said it with a voice that shows irritation.

The monochrome bear pinched the bridge of his snout, already got irritated from all the commotion happening in the gym. He also felt unfair that the student wasn't able to witness his perfect entrance and introduction as the Headmaster, that's not even making him 'Despair-inducing' either, it's just making things more stressful.

"UGH! Alright, alright! We'll look for that troublemaking student." Monokuma took action as he jumped down on the stage and walked towards the door, followed by his cubs behind him who gave their father some distance just in case Monokuma will 'discipline' them again.

The students hesitated whether or not they should believe in what the bear told them to do, he was the one who brought them here in the first place after all. So why bother in listening to a criminal?

While the majority stood in their place, the teen who has a cap covered his eyes started to walk. Much to the surprise of his blond-haired friend, which she also took steps to catch up with him. And that's when he speaks up to the Headmaster to break the silence, "Excuse me?"

"What is it now?" Monokuma turned around while trying to control the volume of his voice.

"Do you have any ideas on what the 'sixteenth student' looks like?" He asked the bear.

Form that question, Monokuma tapped his head in deep thought. He must have tried his best to remember describing the appearance of that particular student, but he does show some difficulty from it.

But by the time the bear opened his mouth, the lights started to fizz. This makes everyone alarmed, even the Monokuma family weren't expecting the lights to fizz like that.

Then, it was followed by a high pitched scream.

 _"NNNGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"_

The scream's pitch is high enough for anyone with sensitive hearing to wince in pain that they have to cover their ears. What's even scarier was the light bulbs of the school's gymnasium began to explode one by one, the green-haired man comes to notice them first.

"GET DOWN!" He commanded the students as he ran to the persons near to him, the girl with the green pinwheel ribbon and the witch hat-wearing girl, he uses his arms just to shield them from the sharp fragments that were about to fall on them.

For safety, the others covered their heads with their hands, while some protected their classmates from the shrapnel.

But for Monokuma and the cubs, they...disappeared. The class wasn't able to get a glimpse of where they went when the gymnasium blacked out.

And then comes darkness...and pure silence.

"I-i-is it over?"

"I assume the mayhem has been compromised."

"Atua must have been mad at us, so he gave the class a warning."

"Can you stop with the occult thing!"

"I can't see a thing!"

"Gonta is scared!"

"Ouch! Who got the guts to step on my beloved legs?!"

"Stop hugging me, you idiot!"

"Everyone, calm down!"

Silence comes back once more in the darkness as the one who spoke up took a loud sigh to continue, "Alright then, first of all, is everyone alright?"

"We're good here." The voice that sounded like a girl replied.

"Just got sprayed by glass a little, but I'm fine." Someone with a masculine voice answered.

"S-s-same h-h-here! I'm perfectly a-okay!" Another man answered the question, despite the shaking tone of his voice.

"If only I have enough MP, I can use my light magic to see in the dark..." The girl said as if she woke up early in the morning.

"Wait a minute, something is not right..." A girl with a bold tone of voice muttered, then it was followed by a -

"AM I BEING HUGGED BY A DEGENERATE?!"

"Now now, Tenko." The man with the familiar voice _(presumably the one who protected the two girls from the glass shards)_ reassured the raging 'Tenko', "Think of the 'bright side', at least you didn't have to get - "

Whatever he said next was cut off and it felt like a gust of wind when the rest of the class when Tenko blew a fuse, who knows what would happen next considering her words before all of them went to the gym.

 _"If it was a Menace, Tenko will use her reflexes to throw them out!"_

Then they heard a loud crash, it sounds like dozens of plywood getting smashed by a wrecking ball. But on the bright side, at least they were able to see themselves completely when a stream of light emerged from the remains of the gymnasium door. They could even see the pinwheel ribbon girl had her fighting stance, and the green-haired guy sitting up after getting thrown by Tenko herself.

* * *

"Come on, Tenko. Apologize to Rantaro already."

"Tenko will never say sorry to a Degenerate like him! And besides, the Menace was the one who gave me their disgusting physical contact in the first place!"

"Relax, Kaede. I'm fine. Look on the bright side, and I mean that literally, good thing she found a way to find the door without even walking towards it." 'Rantaro' said while being optimistic despite what happened to him, to which 'Kaede' had to sigh. It's still crazy for Tenko throwing Rantaro out, considering her philosophy that she had about men.

After all, they're in a Killing Game.

All of the fifteen students had exited from the gymnasium, Monokuma and his children hadn't returned right after the place dropped into pitch black.

'Kaede', the girl who wore a backpack behind her, was walking in front of the group. Presumably to lead them somewhere, which is what she's thinking right now.

The teen with the black cap strutted until he could reach her, Kaede had her arms folded and she was in deep thought.

"Kaede?" He called her name that snapped her out in trance.

"Oh hey, Shuichi. What's up?" Kaede asked 'Shuichi' as she didn't expect him to call her.

"I noticed you were thinking about something."

"About the 'sixteenth student'? Yeah."

"You believe in what Monokuma said?"

Kaede took a long pause before she speaks once more, "You know, Shuichi? With us being trapped in this school and those bears tried to force us to play this 'Killing Game', maybe I should believe in something that's...less bizarre..."

"'Less bizarre'?" The girl dressed in red questioned Kaede, "You think that what happened in the gym is 'less bizarre' than those stupid bears and their dumb weapons?"

"At least they're realistic." Kaede murmured when a classmate of hers is being rude.

"Hey, hey!" A hand was raised by a young boy wearing a checkered scarf, "You think the 'sixteenth student' already got killed and turned into a ghost?"

In which the man who wore purple attire twitched in fear, "Nggggh! WILL YOU STOP WITH THAT GHOST NONSENSE!"

"Nee-hee-hee! You're so funny with that face of yours!"

"Gonta is also in conflict. He wants to believe that our fellow classmate is lost." 'Gonta', the young man who is somehow large, said in worry.

"B-but Kaede." The girl with blue hair called her from behind, "How can you be so sure that the 'sixteenth student' is real? They didn't show up in the meeting, after all."

She hung her head low in deep thought, her face showed unknown sadness. To her, there's no doubt that the 'sixteenth student' is real and is in the school. Sure, they didn't show up and Monokuma disappeared right before the bear could tell what they looked like. Even her classmates had second thoughts on whether or not the so-called 'Headmaster' was telling the truth, but from the looks of the incident when they got stuck in the dark, she was able to get one evidence of the existence of the 'sixteenth student'.

"Well, Tsumugi." She started answering 'Tsumugi's question, "You do know what my Ultimate Talent is, right?"

"Of course, you're the Ultimate Pianist," Tsumugi recalled from her memory since she met Kaede before the meeting in the gymnasium, and that memory gave her some spark to the girl entitled as the Ultimate Pianist.

Tsumugi felt excited from her discovery, "You don't mean -"

"Yep. I heard them. I heard their voice loud and clear." Kaede smiled when Tsumugi finally understood her insights about the 'sixteenth student', her ability as the Ultimate Pianist somehow paid off when she was able to get one piece of evidence about them. But from the sound from her heightened hearing also made her smile quickly fade away, whatever she heard when the lights went overload could be something bad or trouble. She kept on reminding herself about the reality that she's stuck with, Kaede and her classmates are in a 'Killing Game'.

The voice she heard was nothing more but an agonized scream, the sound is no laughing matter when you're making fun of someone being inflicted with so much pain in their life. When she looked at her classmates, they all seemed so calm. Like they all went out of the rubble as if nothing bad happened to them, they didn't even bother to even think of the cause of what happened in the gym. It's like everything is a prank to them.

But for Kaede, it's real. The scream was real, and the 'sixteenth student' really exists.

 _"...remember..."_

Whatever she just heard, it made her stop in taking another step. Shuichi noticed her shocked expression.

"Kaede? Are you alright?" He asked her in concern, everyone also stopped walking when they saw her frozen.

"Shhh!" She silenced him as the Ultimate Pianist placed a hand behind her ear to amplify the sound if ever she could hear them once more. Some of her classmates were also following her actions, though the girl with the yellow coat had her hands together like she was praying.

"Atua has been given us a message..." She said, even though Kaede thinks that it's someone else aside from 'Atua'.

 _"...everything..."_

"I hear it!" Kaede cried, her legs were finally able to gain movements and started to run. "Follow me!" She told everyone who followed suit, the Pianist sprinted as fast as she can like she was playing a fast song on the piano nonstop.

 _"...failed..."_

Kaede skidded to a stop when she couldn't hear his voice, she could hear and feel her heart pounding at the same time. The adrenaline just sparked her into focusing on the 'sixteenth student' more as her top priority, the evidence already slapped to her face when she recognized the voice.

From her input, the voice is definitely a male. And he is definitely in trouble, the shakiness and the instability of his tone shows it.

Whatever is happening to him, she has to do something to at least not to get him killed by whatever is harming him.

Doing the same method as before, she placed her hand behind her ear and concentrates on listening to the voice once more.

 _"_ _Again...and again...and again..."_

She's getting close, Kaede decided to walk quietly so she wouldn't cause any noises.

When Kaede took a turn to her left, she was able to see the entrance hall.

And if she's not hallucinating, she could see a small figure far away from her. That figure is beyond recognizable from the classmates that she met, and Kaede is sure enough that she hadn't seen someone looked like that one she's seeing right now.

"Could it be..." Kaede walked faster but quieter as she reached the opening of the hallway.

 _"I'm a..."_

Kaede was able to see the mysterious figure properly if they turned around though. She had her mouth partially open without anything to say out, the pianist was silent as she stared at what she assumed to be the 'sixteenth student'.

From what she observed, the 'sixteenth student' has a spiky white hair with a large lock of it standing frizzled in the air, she could even see it twitching. The body is even more bewildering, everything on him is black and metallic.

There's no doubt about it, that boy is the missing 'sixteenth student'.

But as she opened her mouth just to consult from whatever happened to him, another voice comes out that made her jump.

 **"SO THERE'S THAT METAL BUTTHEAD!"**

"Kyaa!" Kaede released a squeaky scream from her mouth and turned around to see the other blonde girl who is wearing aviation goggles eerily behind her. She appeared to have the expression of irritation from what Kaede saw from the 'sixteenth student'.

"MIU WHAT THE HECK?!" She yelled at 'Miu' for scaring her. What a way to ruin the moment for the pianist by a woman who drooled in the gym, that's for sure.

Miu, who seemed to shrunken from Kaede's raising of her voice, took a few steps back with her hands holding out from her face as a sign for protection. "G-g-geez, Kaeidiot! You don't have to shout at me like that! I was just following you!"

"But that doesn't mean you have to be creepy and scared the heck out of me like that!" Kaede retaliated in frustration. Of all the bizarre things that happened to her, this came next.

From afar, the pianist could see the others catching up with her and Miu.

Miu, on the other hand, was peeping from Kaede's shoulders to look at the 'sixteenth student'. She could see him frozen on spot, it's like he didn't move at all. Not only she jumpscares Kaede, but she must have scared him too. By golly, Miu is slightly ticked that the two people were afraid of her good looks. They should be scared if the people are ugly, and not gorgeous like herself.

"Is that him?" The short man asked when he was the first one to take a peek on the 'sixteenth student' by the time he reached Kaede and Miu.

Soon, the others were commenting on the same thing. No matter what they saw, it's the real thing.

The 'sixteenth student' is there, kneeling behind them with no chances to even see the full face of his.

None of them took a step closer, it was Kaede's request just to lessen the commotion. Who knows what will the 'sixteenth student' do next.

It's like they're in a zoo, staring at an animal who doesn't even dare to look at the Humans who caged him in the first place.

"So...what now?" Miu asked Kaede without using her inside voice, "Is he gonna sit there while showcasing his metal hiney at us?"

"Do you want to?" Kaede asked with sarcasm, in which Miu leaned back from the pianist's rebuttal.

The man who is wearing military attire took a step forward to observe more of the 'sixteenth student's actions, "Kaede?"

She looked at him with a brow raised, "What is it, Kiyo?"

'Kiyo' turned his head to face her, "Have you attempted in speaking to him?"

"I tried to. Until SHE ruined the moment." She answered with dismay on her face, the pianist even heard Miu muttering 'I said I was sorry' to Kaede.

The young woman in maids uniform stepped forward, "Ms. Akamatsu, perhaps it is a good suggestion for you in trying to speak to him personally now."

Kaede gave the maid a nervous look, "I don't know, Kirumi."

"It is a suggestion, you are the first person to see him. I think it is safer for him to have social contact from you first, then we shall see if he can trust you or not." 'Kirumi' suggested formally, though she does have some signs of worry from her.

From that, everyone starred at Kaede. Affirming that she's the only one who can go to the cage and say 'Hi' to the animal.

With a sigh, it looks like it's up to her.

"Okay, FINE. I'll talk to him." She said to her classmates.

Kaede turned around and walked towards the opening of the entrance hall.

For some odd reason, she felt her palms sweating. She thought of herself, 'Come on Kaede, it's just talking to a boy, no biggie'.

The pianist gulped, she took a deep breath as she releases her voice to the 'sixteenth student'.

"Hello there!"

Looks like her voice reached the 'sixteenth student' when his body stiffened. Seeing that it's working, she continued to be open.

"It's okay! I'm just your average human girl, I won't bite!"

She could see his posture relaxed, she has to speak more. She wanted to see who he really is.

"You can turn around now."

With that acting as a gentle command, the 'sixteenth student' placed his hands on the ground as he slowly placed his unsteady feet next. He almost tripped off the ground until he gained the balance as he turned around until Kaede was able to see his face.

Kaede felt like her heart went heavy, but she had no idea where this odd feeling came from.

The 'sixteenth student', based on her opinion and the point of view from the others, he looked...different. A good kind of different.

Not only he has some patches of metal behind him, but they're also all over his body like an armor. There were 'buttons' that light up on his arms and the middle of his chest, and he has a belt on his waist. He even has a metal collar around his neck, there were even strange green linings on it too.

Her eyes were stuck when she finally saw what his face looked like. His skin is pale white with black linings running under his eyes, ears that don't look like ears at all, and his blue eyes bore into Kaede's.

The eyes of an Innocent.

She doesn't know why, but for some reason...she wanted to reach out her hand and help him...

Unfortunately for her, the 'sixteenth student' stared at her as if he's seeing a ghost! When she said that she won't bite, he must have thought that she's a man-eating monster or something.

It gets worse when he saw the other students behind Kaede, he was even stepping backwards when he saw the young girl with the witch hat, the girl in pigtails, and Shuichi himself. The others were looking at him with suspicion, even the man with the goatee was close to even punch the 'sixteenth student's lights out of it.

The 'sixteenth student' had his head shaking, his face looked like he was close to crying.

She lifts her hand out to her classmates, ordering them to stay in place. It's just like what Kirumi just said, she's the only one who might get his trust. But before she could even take a step closer to him, the 'sixteenth student' reacted badly.

 _ **"...!"**_

Kaede froze, her eyes blinked with confusion.

The pianist thought that he was gonna attack her, but he ended up having his mouth open to make words when he couldn't even make a sound.

Even the 'sixteenth student' was in shock that he even placed his hand over his lips, which it wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to say something, but no words came out. It's like he was silenced! This added his fear more, his shoulders went up and down as if he was hyperventilating.

In Kaede's mind, she feels like the silent communication between her and the 'sixteenth student' was understandable, which she felt like it came out of nowhere. She may not hear his voice like what happened minutes or hours ago, but she could feel what he was trying to say.

 _'Stay away from me'_

The 'sixteenth student' stayed in his place as she started to walk closer to him. He had his hands embracing to his arms and his eyes were shut tight.

"You're the 'sixteenth student', right? I know I'm not the person who you can trust at first, but...I just want to help you."

That made him open his eyes and meet Kaede close and personal with her hand in front of him.

"We're all trapped in this place just like you did. We don't know when and we don't know how we got here in the first place. But all we know is that...we have to escape this place."

"It's okay," Kaede stretched her hand out more, "I'm not going to hurt you."

It's a saying that the person who is telling the truth will always have their eyes looking straight at you, and that's what the 'sixteenth student' is experiencing right now.

The pianist could finally have some relief to herself once she saw his hand slowly reaching out, this made her anxious.

But by the time his hand touched into her skin, there was a tiny spark that went into Kaede.

Her hand was drawn back from the slight electrical pain she felt, but she could see that the 'sixteenth student' went way worse than what she thought of. She could see him panicking, with his body shaking vigorously and the sound of his voice wheezing in trying to make a sound. He is freaking out!

"That's it! I can't take it anymore!"

"Kaito, wait!"

And that even made the students take action when they entered the hall, ready to take him down.

'Kaito' had his fist punched to his other hand, "Hey you! If you're going to hurt Kaede like that, you have another thing coming!"

"It's ungentlemanly to hurt another person, you can't do that Kaito!" Gonta cried out.

"Guys! I told you he's no harm!" Kaede said in frustration, she did give them the gesture to say put. And yet they didn't listen to her when the pianist got slightly electrocuted by the 'sixteenth student'.

"But -"

"No BUTS!" She said it loud and clear, this is getting out of hand.

Kaede turned around to see the 'sixteenth student' about to lose it, he was backing away from her. She was thinking that he was scared of whatever he did to her, but she didn't care about getting hurt.

"Look, it's okay. I don't care if you hurt me, I know you didn't do it on purpose. Just, please! Calm down and let me help - "

"N-no."

"No?" Kaede repeated whatever blurted from his mouth.

"No...No...No no no no no!" The 'sixteenth student' hung his head down, but his shaking wouldn't stop. He's going to lose it.

Kaede tried to reach her hand once more, "Please..."

But it's too late.

 **"NNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

And that's when he started to run as he opened the door to the outside of the school, leaving the students standing in shock.

* * *

"The love of the gods is the only truth. Do we have to impose this in the lives of our children? Oh gods, whose name is ..."

\- [Team] O.B.N.N (Blessed Messiah and the Tower of Ai)

* * *

 **Author's Note (Please read):**

 **WHY IS THE WORD COUNT ARE GETTING HIGHER?!**

Anyways, I have some announcements here.

I just got my classes this week and the enrollment thing is somehow a pain at first. I'm sorry this is somehow late because stress is getting into my head again and it really slowed down my roll in writing. I have entered a lot of organizations, four to be exact. I even have my own personal goal to be a Dean's Lister someday.

 **And because of those things in college, I think I might have a slow update.** So, I'm sorry if I'm going to be slow here.

So, this is chapter 6. The **TRUE PROLOGUE** of this story. I was also having a hard time doing the segment of the class because I have to review the Danganronpa V3 prologues in Youtube, same thing as trying to type ALL OF THE V3 CHARACTERS **.** Like I have second thoughts on whether or not I'm portraying them or not! Hopefully, I get some answers. But take note! This is the start of the butterfly effect taking place so the scenarios would be completely different now. Also, with the soon release of the English version, I'm gonna follow some parts from that localization. Along with the 'Nee-hee-hee' laugh, but that doesn't mean I will push aside the aspects from the Japanese one. I'm still going to put them..if I ever I somehow execute them properly though.

Other than that, I'm telling to all of you that I'm NOT GOING TO PUT SWEAR WORDS in this story. You know, the f-word and others. Though I'm not sure if the word 'Damn' or 'Hell' counted as such, but I'll find that out soon. Now for the reason was that because of my family. **THEY'RE READING THIS STORY**. And if I slip one bad word on it, I'm dead. My family is super strict on whatever I am doing, so it's one tough life in the real world. Let's just say that there's an incident involving me that caused them to be overprotective, but I appreciate on what they're doing though. Seriously, if you could see the news about the Philippines having these killings and crimes, then you have my point.

Now for the theme about **'Forgiveness versus Punishment'** , it's based on things that are happening in this world. I guess you could say that the situation that is happening in my country sparked me about this theme also. I hope you heard about Rodrigo Duterte and his 'War against Drugs' along with the 'Extrajudicial Killings'. People are still in rage about the killings, telling to stop those and give the people a chance to change. However, there are some people who wanted to have JUSTICE. And when I say Justice, I mean the 'Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth' kind of Justice. There are families of the victims (A family member of mine from my father's side was also killed years ago) who were killed by robbery or other crimes that didn't involved Drugs are so angry, that they wanted the one who killed their loved ones die in the worst ways possible. **To be honest, if you asked me on which side I am. The only answer you'll get is 'Neither', that's it.**

So I guess you could say that this fanfiction is also an 'advocacy', if ever I'm using that word right, to show you about the whole Justice System in the whole world (Mostly in the Philippines, but still). While there are some countries who showed a good kind of justice, there are some who weren't that 'merciful'. TAKE NOTE that I'm taking neither sides, and I'm not gonna be biased about it.


	7. START ESCAPE

I know I already said this in Chapter 1, but I'm gonna say it anyway for the newcomers:

 _For the new readers of The Ultimate Punishment, I greet you welcome. You may call me by the name of Trishia, DestinyWing is just a username after all. I would like to give some reminders for the people who started to read the first chapter that this story is released BEFORE the English Dub was announced, so I follow a lot of fan translations or interpretations from the Japanese version of the game. This story is currently (and going to be) Beta Read by three authors (for the past chapters), CelestiaLightoftheGalaxy, Plummy Plums, and Natalie Jovolich. Also, I'll try my best to write a story in paragraphs._

 _With that further ado, welcome to The Ultimate Punishment._

* * *

"Tell me, what do you think is the ultimate fear? I really thought I'd already reached the darkest of the dark, but then, ahead of me, I beheld a darkness even greater still."

\- Johann Liebert (Monster)

* * *

 **Story's Theme: Forgiveness versus Punishment**

* * *

 **Warning:**

 **This story is contained with spoilers from Danganronpa V3. If you have not watched it, move away now.**

 **A new (and temporary) narrator will be introduced in this chapter.**

 **Please read the Author's Notes for further information.**

 **Appearances/Mentions of Team Danganronpa (As of Chapter 6):**

 **Izuru Kamakura - Founder**

 **Makoto Naegi - Director**

 **Hajime Hinata - Second Unit Director**

 **Juzo Sakakura - Head Security**

 **Kyosuke Munakata - Actor**

 **Chisa Yukizome - Actress**

 **Kazuichi Soda - Construction Team Head**

 **Kiyotaka Ishimaru - Security**

 **Mondo Owada - Security**

 **Mahiru Koizumi - Camera**

 **Ryota Mitarai - Editor (Retired)**

 **Ryoko Otonashi / Junko Enoshima - Head Editor**

 **Chihiro Fujisaki - System Administrator**

 **Mikan Tsumiki - Medical Team Head**

 **Yasuhiro Hagakura - Media Agent**

 **Seiko Kimura - Medical Head (Stepped Down)**

 **Chiaki Nanami - Technical Director**

 **Miaya Gekkogahara - Tech Team**

 **Yasuke Matsuda - Medical Team**

* * *

Hello?

HHHHEEEEELLLLLLOOOOOO?!

Testing! Testing!

Is this keyboard even working?

Oh yeah, it is! Hah!

And they thought only Makoto can be the narrator for this thing! Good thing the author gave me a chance to do so, thanks a bunch, girl!

Well then, greetings from the Outside World, everyone _(whoever read this thing though)_! This is Junko -, I mean, Ryoko Otonashi, the Head Editor of Team Danganronpa _(why do I keep on confusing myself to Junko, dang it)_.

Yeah, sorry for the sudden intrusion for taking your place as the narrator instead of you. As you can see, what happened to Makoto Naegi _(Naeggy)_ on Chapter Six was that he went a little TOO overboard with drinking too much coffee, and as a consequence, he lost consciousness. So in the end, Hajime, Chihiro, and I had to carry him to a comfortable place where he can lie down and sleep on with ease. Luckily for us, we were relieved that we were away from the monitors for now. He needs a break, I tell you. So until he regains his consciousness, I'll be your quirky narrator for this chapter!

This Egg can be a little haughty at times to the point that I had to do different methods to knock him out by injecting him with sleeping medicine for him to sleep, and if he refuses the injection and tries to run away from me, I simply throw the injection and shoot it on his arm, it's for his own good. Now, I know that there are a lot of people who are following this impractical method. My ONLY advice for you is to get some good sleep at least once a while! If you haven't been sleeping for who knows how many days, you'll be like Makoto. So don't try this at home, kids! Always have 8 hours of sleep to keep yourself healthy and more attentive to your surroundings.

Anyways, on to the segment!

* * *

"So...how's the Egg doing?" I asked our nurse in Team Danganronpa, Mikan Tsumiki _(please don't say she's a fanservice character, she doesn't like that)_. Mikan, who is somehow busy to answer, wrung a wet towel from the basin full of warm water. Once the water on the towel drips out, she placed them onto Makoto's forehead, who reacted slightly from the heat. And I'm not sure if that's a good sign or a bad sign, Makoto doesn't look good when we brought him to the basement bunker. Hajime, Chihiro, and I were sitting on a bucket for the time being while she's treating him.

I'm just gonna give you a summary of what happened to us by the time we got into the elevator.

Hajime and I were trying to think of a place to get him FAR away from the main room, somewhere that Makoto wouldn't even bother to go up because of his caffeine crash. Except the problem was that our director doesn't even give a bother if we kept him away from his workplace, all he needs is his strong memory and a television screen. It seemed that everywhere we go, there are monitors hanging from either the wall or the ceiling. It's like the same thing that happened at _The End of Hope's Peak Academy_ , you know the one where the casts had to kill themselves from watching the Brainwashing video on the screen that Kazuo Tengan _(he's our director when Makoto, Hajime, Chihiro, and I were actors before, but he's also a veteran actor too)_ had set up just to lure Ryota in broadcasting his 'Hope' video.

Anyways, we were having a hard time finding a place to put him to rest. And no, we are not going to put him in a bathroom just because there are no monitors on them _(seriously, that's also an invasion of someone's privacy too)_. The only place we have to go with no choice was the storage room, but I think it's a good choice too. No monitors, it's far away from the main room _(we're in the basement floor actually)_ , and the place looked like a good disaster bunker with beds and stuff. So it's a good place for him to take a good rest for a while.

Mikan checked the thermometer when she plucked it out from his armpit just in case she speculated that Makoto got sick, which he doesn't thankfully. "Well...Makoto's temperature was rising but that doesn't mean he has a fever, though his heart seemed to beat so fast that he must have a hard time breathing right because of the coffee. The effects of the caffeine still hadn't worn off yet, so I wish the director will drink lots of water so he can get rid of the coffee inside him by his urine once he recovers."

And I was right, yet Mikan's also right about her prescriptions. Makoto needs a rest, a loooong rest. Looks like we have to keep him away from going to the main room for a while.

"Yeah yeah, the three of us will make sure to shove a gallon of water on to Makoto's mouth! So leave that to us!" I said it with a thumbs up, though Chihiro and Hajime reacted the other way around. The two of them just jumped in horror when I said it, cowards.

So does Mikan, "N-no! You don't have to go far from that, Ryoko!"

My arms fold while I look away in disappointment, "Awww, I was looking forward to playing Chug with him."

"Just give him water ONE GLASS AT A TIME. PLEASE?" Mikan slightly had her voice raised when she means it, she's strict when it comes to giving prescriptions.

"Sure, sure." I smiled while my shoulders raised, making me doing the 'shrug' gesture. After all, I can't protest to an Ex-Ultimate Nurse like Mikan Tsumiki.

By the way, if you're going to say that Mikan's different than what you remembered about her, please don't even dare comment on that. She's a former actress just so you know _(and she would inject you with a strong sedative if you're being rude)_ , so don't mess with her, okay?

Mikan Tsumiki is a legitimate nurse in Team Danganronpa, who ended up becoming an actress by the old man Kazuo. Unfortunately, her character of being the Ultimate Nurse in _Danganronpa 2_ deemed to be...'disturbing' for her. Seriously, I have to agree with Mikan by the time I read the script because it's really...how should I say this...'too compromising'. She had no choice but to act anyway since no one can ace her nursing knowledge more than anyone else. So, for now, she would rather forget the Mikan Tsumiki from that show and focus more on the medical stuff considering she's the new head of the Med Team.

While Mikan is still checking on Makoto, Hajime and Chihiro were checking on the script that the boy _(somehow)_ brought in when he guided us in bringing Makoto down to the basement. And as the Head Editor, I have to make sure that I have to make some coordination to the higher-ups, like Hajime since he's the Second Unit Director.

I walked quietly towards them while they were busy as I took a peak on the page they were reading. It was the scene where the _V3_ kids _(yes, I said kids)_ are going to explore the school in finding someplace to escape, in which it's not gonna work because of the 'Death Road of Despair' that Kazuichi installed by Makoto's orders. Though...I do have this strange feeling that this current loop might do something different. I wish it's true, I feel sorry for seeing those kids falling from those booby traps. Especially Kaede, she gets the blame from pushing the others too hard to clear the Despair Road. And because of that incident, it became her downfall when she was framed by Tsumugi for Rantaro's death even though it's not her fault. Her execution sparked outrage from the fans in Danganronpa, especially when they thought that Ki-Bo would be the second protagonist instead of Shuichi. That's double outrage!

I know it sounds off for an Ex-Ultimate Despair _(slash Fashionista, slash Analyst)_ , I was supposed to be ecstatic whenever I see someone went horrifyingly speechless before they fall to their knees and cry. Sure it's fun to watch them suffering badly when it wasn't me getting all the torture, but my sense of Humanity kept on interfering my Norepinephrine to activate.

Other than that, everything Despair related things was for Junko Enoshima and her only. I'm not Junko Enoshima, not anymore. I am Ryoko Otonashi, the Ex-Ultimate Analyst.

Yeah, that's right. I'm Ryoko Otonashi.

I'm Ryoko Otonashi.

I'm Ryoko...Otonashi…

I'm Ryoko…

 _Ryoko…_

 _Ryo...ko…_

"Ryoko?" Hajime's voiced snapped out from my trance, thank goodness for that. It seems that while I was having some odd delusions, my own body must have unconsciously moved without my rightful mind that I leaned too much close to Hajime and Chihiro. So, I think I startled them both.

Chihiro was the one who worries more than Hajime does, "Are you okay?"

Despite I can see clearly, I blinked many times just in case I might follow what Makoto did. To be honest, I'm fine.

"Oh, sorry about that. That must have been a bit doozy for me." I apologized while straightening up my body and fixing my 'uniform' _(I'm not so sure why I did that anyway)_ , I was also stretching my arms since the bunker was a little bit constricted. It's only allowed for one person, so it's somehow crowded from the inside. I looked back at Makoto, he's still pale and looked weak. It makes my face frown whenever I saw him having a fatigue, he worked too much and that's the consequence he had to pay. He doesn't care whether or not he'll get sick from his job, or Mr. Kamukura would get mad at him _(even though the old man doesn't blow a fuse as what Makoto had thought of about our founder)_.

The members of Team Danganronpa understand what Makoto had gone through in his past _(and it's really bad)_ , but we all wished that he could just tone himself down a little bit.

"Well, Mikan." I called her while pointing the bunker's door with my thumb, "The three of us are going back now, duty calls."

She responded with a nod before going back to check on Makoto's vitals. Hajime, Chihiro, and I walked out of the bunker and closed the door quietly.

We were silent for a while until…

"LAST ONE IN THE ROOM IS A ROTTEN ORANGE!" Said by the one and only Orange Juice when his legs just sprinted on a run!

Chihiro and I see that coming, our jaws dropped when Hajime just surprised us like that _(and at the same time, it's expected)_. It's like he's being Roadrunner from Looney Tunes, even the dust and other things got flown by Hajime's run. For goodness sakes, that means I'm Lola Bunny and Chihiro is Tweety Bird!

Dang it Hajime, he challenged us in a race. Oh, when I get my hands on him by the time I win this race, I'm gonna give him my Super High School Level Power Kick!

In an instant, I grabbed Chihiro's arms _(that made the boy jumped in surprise)_ and lifted them until they could reach my shoulders, followed by picking up the rest of his legs until I was balanced when I am carrying him 'Bridal Style'. Though the boy's point of view, I can see that Chihiro was blushing on whatever the heck I'm doing to him _(he's turning red for reals)_!

"Ryoko! What the heck is going on right now?! What's with Hajime all of a sudden?!" Chihiro asked me.

"Just hold on tight, looks like Hajime wants a race!" I said as I dug my heels on the floor and dashed towards the stairs while carrying Chihiro, the boy had his hands grip tight so he wouldn't fall. Good thing Chihiro's still light, he's already in the legal age even though he doesn't look like one.

Once I finally reached the end of the stairway, I kicked the basement's door with my legs _(I have my arms carrying Chihiro, what do you expect?)_ and entered the lobby. I looked around the place to find where Hajime was running to, though the staff were staring at me because of the current shenanigan the three of us were going at.

And from my sight, I saw Hajime inside the now fixed elevator making faces at me. Much to my dismay that I wasn't able to reach him either.

Chihiro, on the other hand, is still confused on the situation he got involved with. I don't blame him, even the three of us were because he's a newbie in the trio.

"Um...Ryoko?" He called me out.

I looked at him without changing my facial expression, "Yeah?"

"Is this...well...normal?"

"Which one?"

He went in deep thought until he answers, "Everything the three of you did in here?"

I blinked and went in silence.

Woah.

Even though I expected Chihiro to say that, it still surprises me. Dang, everything that Hajime, Makoto, and I did makes his jaw drop? Hmm, I never knew we could be that unpredictable _(ironically speaking in Team Danganronpa, though)_.

Now you're wondering how this shenanigan came to be, I'll tell you. You see, life inside the Team Danganronpa is like your daily boring workplace where you do boring stuff like staying in your cubicle the whole day filling up some paper works and documenting on your computer like what people do all the time! And here, it's all about making plots about Killing Games and Hope and Despair and blah blah blah! It's like I've been living in a _Walking Dead_ universe instead of a _Danganronpa_ universe, the majority of the staff here were like zombies or something. Their aura color was always grey and they talk like they've read a script. It's...DESPAIRING to see people like this! I don't like it one bit, even Hajime and Makoto agreed to me.

So the three of us decided to make things lighter in Team Danganronpa, we did some fun stuff inside like some Team Building Seminars or parties. While the idea was good for our fellow co-workers since they enjoyed doing things aside from work, there is a teeny tiny problem when we were planning those stuff. Everything we did happen from the INSIDE, as in we never went outside of the building. Old Man Kamukura said that going outside as a group is dangerous, and there is a large possibility that there will be some 'casualties' if that happens.

As much as I want to get out of this 'prison office', he does have a point there. Especially what happened to…

I think I went too far in what I should and should not tell to you. I'll tell it to you for another time.

Hajime's winning because he cheated on the race. I'm not letting him win.

"You know what? I think you'll find that out soon enough!" I went on running to somewhere I could catch that Orange Juice up, the only place I could go up is the stairs. Good grief. It's just the elevator and the stairs are the only inventions that can go up and down, isn't there? Oh well, looks like I have to do my daily exercise...again.

My legs were taking fast steps on the stairs nonstop, I kept my watch on how many floors I climbed up as of now. Chihiro, on the other hand, has some sense of familiarity around the place. I guess this was where he climbed up last time _(and almost fainted from running)_ when the whole Team Danganronpa commencing the Hopebot's execution.

Once I saw the number that tells us what floor we are now, I kicked the door open and jumped in. And based on what I remembered, this is the same place where we carried Makoto when he was knocked out. From the numbers being shown on the screen, it's still climbing up to this floor. It means that I'm winning the race.

A smirk crept up from my lips as my legs snapped into a run, even fast enough to make it to the main room that is still empty the whole time.

"Stay here, Chihiro," I said to Chihiro while putting him down. The boy grabbed something near and sturdy for him _(a table)_ to regain balance from being off the floor the whole time, he also placed his hand onto his head to control himself from getting dizzy too.

While for me, I'm standing near the wall just near the main room's doorway when I remained it open instead of closing it. I could see Chihiro going to open his mouth to ask, but I shushed him. He responded with a nod and quietly sit on a chair instead, I just...wish he could understand what I'm saying to him. It's part of my plan after all.

We remained in silence as I concentrated on listening to the sounds in the hallway, I closed my eyes and placed my hand behind my ear to make them louder for me.

 _TING!_

My eyes snapped open when I hear the bell of the elevator, and the smirk didn't fade as the booming footsteps echoing the hallway. The adrenaline inside my brain is rising as I prepared my special attack to Hajime, the 'Super High School Level Power Kick'.

I have my fighting stance readied, my heels dug on the floor. Not because to run, but to charge my energy to launch the attack that I'll give to that Orange Juice once I see his figure passing on the doorway. He thought that I wasn't fast enough to catch him because he used an elevator, but he's wrong.

For Chihiro, he had a hunch that things will get ugly in the end. Despite he wasn't aware I did _(almost)_ the same attack to Makoto, the boy's worried about Hajime's condition right after I beat him up. So, he got out from his seat and went to where the room's kitchen was _(yes, we have a kitchen nearby)_.

The footsteps are getting louder as the shadow of Hajime Hinata creeping closer to the main room, I could even hear his _(cocky)_ voice!

"I'mgonnamakeitI'mgonnamakeitI'mgonnamakeit!"

And that's when I see him leaping through the door like a ballerina performing the Grand Jete, you could see the face of _(false)_ victory plastered on his face. Now that's funny to see from my point of view, he looked like an idiot there.

"I MADE IT!" Hajime cried out loud like a madman on the loose.

"OH NO, YOU'RE NOT!" My voice caught him off guard, everything went slow-mo in his eyes.

He had his head turned around, searching where the sound came from. By when he saw my eyes, his ecstatic face was changed into pure dread when he recognized my fighting stance.

His last words were, "Holy - "

 **"SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL POWER KICK!"**

My legs reacted as if they were the slingshot. When I 'pulled' the trigger, the bullet already knows where to hit it. The next thing...well...I'll leave it to your imagination.

If you're a man, I don't think I have to explain more. My target's already obvious, you might even flinch if I said it anyway _(*cough*Men'sVulnerableOrgan*cough*)_

50 seconds later _(and yes, I kicked him 'hard' enough that the pain lasted on that time)_ , Hajime still remained laying on the floor face flat. His hands were pressed on his body since he was trying to ease the pain from his...I guess you could say, his own 'Nut'.

What's funnier is that I can hear his whimpering cries, but I would rather control my laughter instead of going hysterical from what I did to him. I know he doesn't want anyone to see him silently crying _(unless it's me or Makoto)_ , it's the reason why he had his face hidden in the first place.

Chihiro has his ice pack on his hands, but he couldn't even place it to the injured area when Hajime hides it from the boy who is trying to help him recover.

From all the standing I did for a while, my body decides to take a rest. I lowered myself close to the Orange Juice by placing one knee down until I could reach Hajime close at least.

"Come on, Hajime." I spoke, "Turn your body around and Chihiro will do the first aid for you, the pain will be gone soon anyway."

"Mpghmghphmh!"

"What?"

Hajime's head is finally raised filled with tears all over his face, "I said I CAN'T MOVE MY BODY, OH MY GOD!"

I'm unfazed with that response, "It wasn't that hard!"

"It's still painful, you know! I thought I almost died!"

"You're not dying, Hajime. Stop being a crybaby!"

"I'm not crying!"

"Then why'd you have snots on your nose?"

"UGH! FOR GOODNESS SAKE, JUST HELP ME!"

"Well, why didn't you say so? I could just do what the nurses do to their patients then!"

I stood up and moved to his side, then I lightly move his body to the left with my foot. Man, he's stiff! As if he had his own body is in a spring lock suit, only a mechanic can only unlock it _(except he's a human so)_. His hands were still on the injured area, he didn't bother to remove them until Chihiro hands him the ice pack _(that is slowly melting when the water drips down)_.

The two of us waited as the ice does its part to at least aid Hajime from his 'Nut problem', it did take a while to see his face showing some signs of relief. Though...waiting is...boring me out. I gotta break the annoying sound of silence somehow.

"So Chihiro, how's puberty?"

The poor boy was drinking a bottle of water when I asked that, the water just spurted out from his mouth and onto Hajime _(and he's not amused to it)_. Chihiro is coughing loudly, mostly because of the water entered the wrong throat.

"Ryoko!" Hajime yelled out while I tried to control my laughter.

"Well, I'm sorry! I think it's the right time to talk to him about it."

"But you don't have to say it like that!" Hajime said as he starting to get up from his knees, "You're being too insensitive to him!"

"Come on, Hajime! He's already eighteen! Legal age!"

"That doesn't mean you have to shove those things up to his - "

"LANGUAGE!" I yelled at Hajime right before he says a 'bad word' in front of Chihiro. He's still pure, and I'm not letting anyone taint that purity.

Chihiro held his hand out to us while placing his other hand on his chest to ease out his coughing, "It's *cough* fine! I just *cough* need to calm myself a little!" he said in between coughs.

Though from my line of sight, I could see that Chihiro is also 'laughing' despite he got choked in the first place _(but I could see that he tried his best to fit in with us)_. Oh boy, he has a lot to learn...I know he wants to understand why it's normal to have these shenanigans, but maybe he shouldn't rush it at first. I could only smile while sighing, the adrenaline already drained my body from the Super High School Level Kick and I still got the energy to do some work.

While Hajime patted Chihiro's back make his coughs quiet down, I walked towards the television screen to check the status of the current episode that Makoto _(along with us)_ made. I must have forgotten that we should have to keep an eye on the show's status now that Makoto was out and we have to report about what happened also.

From what I see from the television screen close to me, I see Ki-Bo...running away from his classmates. And he wasn't being chased just because he's a robot, unlike in the past timelines _(perhaps that scenario already stopped from the twenty-first time loop, even the audience were getting bored)_. Instead, the robot was being chased because he freaked out!

Sure the audiences already understand what he'd been through, but his classmates don't. So, their only course of action was to get him and probably talk _(interrogate)_ to him. Which, for me, is not a very good idea for that kind of treatment to the traumatized robot. Poor guy. Looks like Project RNSE must have hurt him pretty badly in returning his past memories while he was still in the recovering stage.

My only reaction was to sigh, a deep and heavy sigh. Because you know about those shows or games or movies or even anime have the genre involved Time Travelling these days, they're Unpredictably-Predictable, except it's mostly on the predictable side. It is the reason why I got that reaction, I already know what's going on because of the past time loops and yet I don't know what will Ki-Bo do to change the current time paradox of having his 'friends' _(bullies)_ getting killed one by one. I wish I could think of a way to help ease our protagonist's pain, but I couldn't. Especially when we weren't allowed to interfere the story, or Makoto _(my boss)_ will freak out and cause even scarier than the Riot. I had no choice but to sit there and do my job, it's the only way I could do just to make him happy again.

"Hajime? Ryoko?" The voice of a young boy snapped me out of my trance once more. When I regained my senses, I saw Chihiro looking at his laptop. And it looks like he either had a bad breakfast or something is wrong, the boy is ever serious from his facial expression. The question is, what made him stressed about this time?

"Is something wrong?" Hajime asked.

"It's the Death Road of Despair trap." Chihiro looked at us with worry, "It's not working."

I raised a brow, "What do you mean the DRD isn't working?"

Hajime turned around and looked at the screen to see the sixteen characters, who were trapped in the 'school' they built, were running in a sewer tunnel. But that wasn't the odd part, it's that they were able to get across to some disabled bombs with no fear whether those traps explode or not.

His brows furrowed as he released a quiet growl, "Didn't Kazuichi set those traps on?"

"I don't think it's not that." I answered, "They WERE on, it's just they got shut down by something."

Hajime then slapped his head, "It must have been the electricity we've sent to Ki-Bo!"

"The electric current must have affected to the circuitry in the Ultimate Academy!" Chihiro followed

I shrugged, mostly knew that torturing the robot with high voltage electricity would short the circuits out. "We did give him thirty-five hundred volts. I guess that makes sense to me."

"I knew overpowering the transformer was a bad idea, but no! He didn't listen to me…" Hajime murmured in stress, questioning how come Makoto didn't notice the power outage _(which I am also wondering about that)_.

"But what should we do now? We can't just turn our power sources on, the Despair Trap would be affected…"

"And the game would be over before we knew it, the DRD will become a mass grave. Makoto wouldn't be happy about that." I said while I continued watching the live video of the students venturing inside the Death Road of Despair. For others, seeing them not able to reach halfway of the trap is good news, their bad news would be they still can't get the whole power supply of the game zone back on.

I remained watching the television, the kids are persistent in chasing Ki-Bo in the Death Trap. They didn't even know or care if there are traps in the first place. It's like they have their eyes on the goal they wanted to reach, which is unusual from the past time loops we set up where they failed. Their failure caused a butterfly effect on the deaths of Rantaro Amami and Kaede Akamatsu in the first place, thus passing the protagonist title to Shuichi Saihara. And the rest goes on as it continued to the ending, then the clock rewinds once more.

In my point of view, I'm not even sure whether I should feel impressed or not that the Despair Trap disabled for the first time. We never actually tried to even perform that trick from the past since it's Makoto's idea to turn them on whenever the students entered the sewers, so this is where we can finally see what would happen if they were able to cross the Despair Trap game.

"So, Hajime."

"What?"

I looked at him, "You're the Second Unit Director, right? What are you gonna do next?"

Hajime's face flustered by the question I asked him, I bet he must have forgotten his job in Team Danganronpa from the shenanigans we've gone through.

From his shocked look, Hajime fixes himself up and cleared his throat. But by the time he's about to open his mouth, he noticed me not looking at him. Which is because I proceeded to watch the television instead of listening to Hajime. It's not that I don't like him, it's because I have my worries focusing on the students.

I know Makoto had mentioned this, but I have sympathy for them. And as a member of Team Danganronpa, it's unnatural to have the employee to have the care to the contestants who willingly signed up for the television show. I happen to be the 'lucky' person to be that, sarcastically speaking.

You must be curious why I acted like this ever since Chapter 4 and you wanted answers.

Well, I think it's best not to say it. I'm not even sure if I trust you or anything, I'm just not ready to tell you.

I waited for Hajime's answer since it's his job to take over as a substitute whenever Makoto is absent.

But when he did, his response surprised me.

"We'll let them go."

My eyes blinked, "What?"

Hajime placed his hands on his hips while closing his eyes _(though I could see him vexed in his decision)_ , "It's like you said. Turning the power on while they're inside will kill them, and then we have the shortest time loop episode we made. I think it's the best for the contestants to pass the Despair Trap first, then we'll use the backup generator afterward."

I raise a brow from his sudden change of attitude, his decision making is somewhat like a normal director would do at a time like this.

"Wait a minute!" Chihiro jumped out from his seat, "Isn't Makoto going to be mad if we went against the script?"

"He won't. And besides..." Hajime picked up the show's script and handed it to me.

"We have our own Head Editor."

My eyes went wide open, "WHAT?!"

He gave me a sincere smile, as a sign of help from my point of view. "Come on, Ryoko. It's just paper, the script won't bite you."

"For your information, Hajime Hinata. I edit video clips, NOT newspapers! I'm not Geronimo Stilton, you know!"

"It's a script."

"It's still a paper!"

I can't believe Hajime thinks of my job like that! Just because there's the word 'Editor' on my skin, doesn't mean I edit everything! And besides, the scriptwriting part supposed to be Toko's job!

"This is for the three of us. Makoto mustn't know about this."

"You're going to make me edit the script and not telling him?! Why?!"

He pushed the script further to me, "Makoto's gonna murder me if we tampered it, duh!"

"That's not the answer I'm looking for Hajime! I could see it in your eyes, I know you're lying!"

Hajime groaned loudly as he scratched his head in irritation, "Just edit the script!"

"Not until I could hear why you're making me do it!"

"I already told you!"

"I said that's not what I want to hear!"

"Ryoko, stop! Wait!" I hear Chihiro's voice interfering with our argument, he looked concern about us. Almost like a child watching a parent bickering each other, trying to find a way to stop their fighting. I could see him hesitating in what he's about to say.

His pace of saying these words are fast, but I was able to hear them crystal clear. "Hajime wanted for the students to pass the Death Road of Despair because he doesn't want to see you sad!" Chihiro cupped his mouth.

"Huh?" My mouth remained open from what I've heard, he intended to tamper with the script and lead half of the episode just for me? I even looked at Hajime, he had his body turned around while his face is covered with his hands. In which, I take that answer for a 'yes'.

I placed my hand over my beating heart, my body feels light that I have to steady myself to prevent falling. And then, I found myself laughing with joy.

"Aha...ahahaha! Hajime, you Orange Juice! Are you insane?!"

"I'm not insane! You are!" Hajime turned around to face me with his cheeks turning red.

"If you wanted to make me feel better, you could have just told me!" I yelled at him with a smile on my face from ear to ear.

"Look, I just don't like seeing your long face. It's...It's distracting!"

"Oh, really?"

"Yes! Now start with the script or I'll regret it!"

I chuckled as I looked at the script that Hajime gave to me, "Of course I will, not until you said 'you're welcome'."

"JUST EDIT THE SCRIPT!"

"Thank you!"

And that's when I started to work on Makoto's script secretly, it was _(somehow)_ the best assignment Hajime gave to me for the first time.

* * *

 _Time is defined as a universal system of how Reality changes within the continuum of every existence of the world._

 _It is also where Life and Death set apart from each other, where one indicated how long has someone or something existence and the other would indicate until when exactly it stopped existing._

 _Every single event that happened to every single living creature exists was handicapped by time itself._

 _From the time when you're awake, cleaning your body, eat, go to school, return home, sleep, and then repeat._

 _Repeat._

 _Repeat._

 _Repetition is one of the Time's gears, it's the one that you will see on your clock. Where you don't see the number thirteen in the continuing circle of seconds, minutes, and hours. It's all there to it, it's a never-ending cycle of Life and Death being manipulated by Time itself along with the help of the Human Will._

 _Because in the end, whatever happens in the Time of your Life, will be everything based on your own decision. And everything bad can and will happen, it's all your fault, too._

 _One thing about time travelers, even though it's a little bit cliche, is that they have a specific goal that they have in mind whenever they rewind the clock and start the whole puzzling game of life and death. They wanted to change something within the loop, a change that can disrupt the original timeline to create a new one, one that can be happy about the positive side of the Butterfly Effect._

 _And as usual, they failed._

 _Again._

 _And again._

 _And again._

 _Except that this is how the Ultimate Hope perceived Time anyway, considering he's the one in control of the handicap instead._

 _That's right, this is who he is and who he truly is in this story._

 **"I'm a Time Traveler."**

* * *

In all honesty, he began to think why he freaked out in the first place.

The robot is alive, got his memories returned from the last timeline, and he can finally see his classmates alive as nothing happened.

He should be happy, right?

No.

Not when this happened for thirty-one times, and he still had not recovered completely after getting betrayed by his friends, being voted, and dragged into the most Despair inducing execution he ever experienced in his entire 'life'.

He wanted to believe that Time Traveling is just a dream, a myth that can only be realistically believed through childish imagination. That none of the timelines showcased the repeating cycles of life and death of his classmates, that there are no betrayals or sacrifices that were forced to commit by the ringleader of the Killing Game. That they can escape the Ultimate Academy by working together, it should be like that.

But because of the memories, Ki-Bo can't deny the harsh reality he had to believe in. It is the painful truth about who he really is and what he was supposed to do as a Time Traveler, the robot almost forgot about his objectives that he considers to be disrespectful for his dead friends when he thought that he abandoned his mission.

It was at that moment when he saw the living Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist that was innocently framed and brutally executed by the ringleader, reached her hand out him. He misses Kaede's optimistic voice and fierce leadership, she's determined to end the game with the rest of the students and defeat the mastermind. She believes in every single individual that they don't have the capability of being a bloodthirsty murderer which is true, and Kaede's words made Ki-Bo want to believe in her too.

By the time he touched her hand, the flash an electric spark caused his inner workings to unlock even worse memories. Memories that the robot wanted to seal and never be open again and that drove Ki-Bo into a hysterical panic.

The last thing he wanted to do was to leave the place and his classmates. To run away from every single fear he dealt in the past.

He just wanted to run.

Away from Kaede, from the mastermind, from Shuichi.

Everyone.

 _"Wait! Stop!"_

Ki-Bo continued in running while turning his head around not only to listen to what Kaede said but to check whether if she's alone or there are other people following the Ultimate Pianist.

 _"Please, don't run!"_

 _"You're only one and we're fifteen! You can't hide from us forever!"_

Which he got the latter right, the rest of the students were also running just to get him. He could see Kaito being the student running beside Kaede and the one who is catching up with Ki-Bo. Along with Kirumi, Tenko is athletic enough to almost catch him if ever he's off guard.

Much to the robot's dismay, he thought that they'll ignore him for being a weirdo. He thought that once he ran away, his classmates wouldn't have to chase him and wait once he returned instead. Or even they'll think of what happened minutes ago was an illusion or a prank by Monokuma, and the Killing Game Semester would proceed.

But no, it was neither of them.

 **Why are they still chasing me?!**

The robot continued to run outside of the school premises, thinking of a solution to get away from his classmates while his mechanical legs are still moving.

 **I have to think of something!**

 **I can't just outrun them forever! I even assume that my upgrades from the past time loop were gone, too! I don't have any function to fight against them, and it's cruel to hurt my classmates…**

He winced mentally as he shakes his head. Looks like the torture that Team Danganronpa had given to him had still taken some effects through his head even if they finished returning his memories.

"No...Reject! Reject!" Ki-Bo commanded himself harshly, trying to focus on his current priority: Escape from his classmates. But because of his overthinking, he didn't notice that he's going to run into a metal fence.

As a result, the laws of physics have taken effects on the robot. He 'felt' something thin, yet heavy slammed into his waist. Painfully halting him without noticing, then Ki-Bo had his face met with the grass following his body.

Ki-Bo should have been unconscious by now, but he reminded himself that his classmates are after him. The robot tried his best to remain conscious and placed his hands on the ground as leverage to lift himself into his knees, followed by grabbing the metal fence to fully stand up. However, he could still 'feel' the pain of the impact that he received by the time he recovers.

There is no time in looking back, he had to keep moving.

He started running, but his pacing is limp. He had his hand placed over to where the 'pain' comes from, he's also relieved that the fence he was hit didn't accidentally press his 'Self-Destruct Button'. Or he'll have to start another time loop without even getting a chance to explore the current one. Other than that, the robot has concerns about whether or not he's damaged. But he has more concerns about the 'pain' he just felt, the hit may seem small yet it weakens his mobility. For humans, getting pain makes them almost immobile depending on how agonizing it is. For Ki-Bo, he thinks that it's highly unnatural for him to experience pain because he's a -

 **Why did I think of robophobic remarks all of the sudden?**

The robot paused to look at the surroundings. He was able to get far enough from his chasing classmates, but he needs to hide from them right now, especially when he has a handicap from getting hit by the fence earlier. Running can't be the option anymore, he had to use his next plan.

Ki-Bo turned to a building, one that gives him a decision to enter that particular place with no second thoughts. He limply walked to the door and opened it, making sure that he's completely inside right before his classmates almost him if the robot hadn't pushed the door against them until he's able to lock it into place.

He took a few steps back from the door, which is filled with the wooden sound of the students banging against it.

With the assurance that the door is locked into place, Ki-Bo turned around to the real sight of what's inside of the building he entered.

From his point of view, there are wires scattered on the ground that has grass growing from the cracks and gaps. However, another half of it is a large metallic net that still has grass growing through them. In fact, it's not just only grass that is growing inside the building, but there are trees and moss also. It's almost as if no one was there to trim the plants off for a long time, even abandoned. There's even the school's television that has numerous speakers attached around the screen.

Then, there is also a large boiler that took over a space from the other end, the large pipes looked like it came from the ground. The boiler, while it looked old and rusty, seems to be functioning normally. Its mechanisms were in the mix of different parts that some don't exactly belong to the stationary ones, although the model might be a hybrid kind of boiler that can generate powerful steam in the school.

Above him is a glass ceiling that was held in steel supporters and there's a huge circular light fixture that can be used at nighttime.

It took Ki-Bo for a while to remember the familiar place and when the robot did, he does not take that memory quite well.

"Oh no…"

He took a long gasp, "The Boiler Room!"

The building he entered is the Boiler Room if it wasn't for the large contraption standing in front of the robot. It is one of the locations that he regretted to unconsciously enter with no rational reason why he chose the place.

The robot took quiet steps in getting a closer glimpse of the Boiler Room, when he stepped on something rough and metallic. Ki-Bo looked down with his eyes widen in shock.

Below from his feet is a manhole, large and bronze-colored with the symbol of a certain monochrome bear's eye embossed on the lid. The robot took a step back from the manhole, he fell silent when more memories froze his whole body.

He remembered when the whole class thought that they were able to find the exit through the tunnel, but they were tricked instead. And when they get hit by those booby traps, Kaede pushes them into re-entering the tunnel again and again with no concern of the other's feelings that slowly made them succumb to Despair.

The students, like Kokichi Oma, began to blame her. And even though the robot had nothing to do against Kaede, he was the one who contributed the near-nihilistic aura to the pianist.

 _"Given the circumstances...the most logical course of action would be to  
_

 _ **give up**."_

Ki-Bo felt like it was his fault why Kaede gambled her life just to kill the mastermind and save her friends. In the end, her plan backfired and she completely fell into the mastermind's trap. Ending her life through a brutal execution, one that sparked the infamous Killing Game to an endless cycle of murder.

He placed a hand over his head, the robot shows guilt on the memory he remembered from the past. Perhaps he was right, maybe he did push the Ultimate Pianist to her demise because he was selfish, arrogant, and weak. Ki-Bo never thought that he returned to palace that everyone, including himself, caused a butterfly effect that killed Kaede.

"I...should have apologized to her…" The robot whispered, "If only I wasn't that selfish...I could have made her happy…"

He winced in utter grief and closed his eyes as he has taken an attempt to relax himself from those painful memories.

"Hey, kid!"

But the trance didn't last long as he heard Kaito's booming voice from the outside, "Open the darn door or we'll bust it open!"

"Don't break the door, Kaito!" Gonta's voice interjected the Ultimate Astronaut

"Kaito! Gonta!" Ki-Bo jumped as he tried to remember his objective in escaping from his classmates.

The first 'thought' comes to his mind was the manhole, but he wasn't sure that popped up to his database. Perhaps, he was panicking that his 'brain' becomes overwhelmed of finding different solutions all at once. No wonder the humans get stressed. But he has no choice, the students are getting even more agitated when they make noises behind the door louder.

The robot placed both of his hands on the lid, he mustered his strength to pull it off.

"Grrrh…..Grrrrrrrrrrhhhhhh!"

...but he realized something stupid.

"I forgot I have the strength of a senior citizen!" Ki-Bo cried for his scrawny strength for a robot like him. Of course, the upgrades he installed last time were gone, especially his strength went back to the power of an old man! The robot is not lucky that he downgraded at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Okay, I should not be hasty in this….I can't believe my upgrades are gone when I needed them the most…"

His optical lenses shifted from left to right, thinking of an alternative solution of opening the manhole or finding another place to escape. Ki-Bo thinks of Gonta to open it for him, the Ultimate Entomologist can lift the bronze lid with his two fingers. Unfortunately, Gonta can't help him right now, especially the so-called gentleman is right behind the door doing the same thing that happened at the Insect Meet and Greet past time loops ago.

"There's gotta be another way…" Ki-Bo murmured in distress, he couldn't find another way to escape other than the manhole. His inexperience of handling human stress is giving him a headache, the robot had to stare at a still object, like the tree, just to keep him in focus and relax.

...which actually gave him an idea.

* * *

The person with purple fabric slippers had taken an impact against the wooden door, and then it was pulled before it swiftly bashed the door even harder. But no matter what the foot does, there is no effect in breaking it.

"This is your last chance!" Kaito Momota, the Ultimate Astronaut yelled, "We're gonna break this door if you keep on hiding in there!"

Gonta stepped in front, "How many times do Gonta tell Kaito not to break the door! It's not gentlemanly to the door and our classmate!"

Kaede twisted the doorknob for a hundredth time with no results of getting it unlocked, "Oh, geez! He's not opening it!"

It's been a while that the students are trying to find a way to break into the Boiler Room so they can catch the 'sixteenth student', who ran away from them.

Upon Kaede's decision, they chased him down. The 'sixteenth student', from their point of view, can be clumsy at times when he bumped into a metal fence, but he can be fast enough just for him to enter the Boiler Room and lock himself in so the others can't get inside.

The others started in checking the building to see if there are any Windows or doors to enter, but there aren't any. Not even thinking of going inside by the roof, it's too high for them to climb and dangerous also.

Because of that, everyone was taking a 'break' when some of the students can't think of anything else.

Angie had been praying to her 'Atua' for who knows how long, Himiko is sleeping on the grass without any care on having dirt on her uniform, and Shuichi continued in circling around the building.

So far, they have no luck.

"Well, if you hadn't touched his clean body with your dirty claws on him, then he wouldn't have freaked out because of your ugly face!" Miu yelled at her as if she's ten feet away from Kaede despite being next to the pianist.

Kaede retaliated, "It's your fault why you ruin my moment with him if you hadn't scared the heck out of us like that, and all you talked about was his backside!"

"At least a genius like me knows when to stop thinking about anything filthy and know when to set my priorities straight! Maybe you should take some lessons from the Ultimate Inventor herself, Kaeidiot."

"You sly hypocrite."

"Hey!" Kokichi called them out, "You two lag mutts are wasting time when we are supposed to find a way to open the door!"

The boy marched closer to Miu with a menacing look that made the Ultimate Inventor shrink, "If you're not going to cooperate with us and just sitting there being all wild and stuff, I suggest to go to a corner and poop like a dog you are!"

"Hiiiiieeeeeeeee!" The inventor screams and hid behind Kaede, much to her dismay.

From the sight of seeing them not helping with this kind of situation makes Maki shake her head, she doesn't want to even deal with anyone considering they're in a killing game and all her classmates are treating it as a joke. She sighed, trying to come up something to change the subject.

"Any ideas on who that boy is?" Maki asked out to the students.

That catch the attention of her classmates.

Tsumugi Shirogane asks, "What do you mean, Maki?"

Maki folds her arms, "Ever notice how he acts towards Kaede? By the looks of it, he trusts Kaede quickly when he was supposed to be terrified of her longer."

"I'll… take it as a compliment just for us to move on." Kaede overheard Maki, slightly felt offended while Miu is trying to hold her laugh.

"Okay, so what does it have to do with me? I was trying to be nice, there's nothing wrong with that." She asked.

"Maki's right, you know. There is something wrong with that."

Maki turned around to see Rantaro speaking to her side.

"A degenerate male siding with a girl?! Has the world gone mad?!" Though she could also see Tenko looking vexed towards the man.

"Is there something wrong?" Maki asks Tenko, irritated for at the Aikido Master being mad at something small and unimportant.

"Yes!"

Rantaro continued. "Don't forget, guys. We're in a killing game. Naturally, we already felt the intimidation from what Monokuma told us about participating in a killing game against our will. It's scary to see that we were kidnapped and we don't remember how we got here, and I even don't know what my talent is. The same goes for the 'sixteenth student', but he's even more scared than us and he doesn't even know about the killing game because he never went to the meeting with Monokuma."

Korekiyo Shinguji nods in understanding, "It makes sense. A student without any information about what is happening around him will come up with the most common emotion, fear."

"And because of that, he should have been more frightened by the time he saw us. Specifically, Kaede Akamatsu." Maki called out the name of the Ultimate Pianist, which Kaede raised a brow.

"But he's scared because you frightened him, I told you that."

"And why wouldn't he? The student doesn't know you from the start."

"So?"

"He shouldn't have trusted you, because that's what causes a suspicion."

Kaede blinked at what Maki said, "Suspicion? You think of him as a bad guy that quickly?"

Rantaro could only roll his eyes, and here he thought that he's the suspicious one because of the lack of talent. Looks like the 'sixteenth student' beat him to it, which is both a good thing and a bad thing.

"It's not that we think of him like that, but we're in a Killing Game, Kaede." Rantaro reminded the pianist.

Everyone went on silent while staring at Rantaro before he could continue.

"For one thing, he knows something that we don't know."

Kaede asked, "Like what?"

"Weeeelll!" Kokichi jumped into the conversation out of silence, this gained a lot of groans from the students, except for Gonta and Rantaro.

"Aside from the fact that the 'sixteenth student' trusted Kaede without even knowing her personally, I think he must have known the places also. Like the place he locked himself into." The Supreme Leader said as he pointed the door that still can't open as of now.

Miu tries to turn the doorknob for the final time, it still had not budged. "Says the gremlin who blabbers with your drool! Why did you open your stupid mouth all of a sudden?"

"It's getting boring around here and you people are just sitting on the grass doing nothing! Can't you do something exciting for once?"

Maki glares at Kokichi, "Do we care about that?"

He shifted his eyes when he saw Maki glowering at him, he even raised his hands in defense. "Hey! I'm just trying to help my classmates in chasing that 'sixteenth student' who hurt Kaede in the first place! That guy deserved to be punished and brought to justice!"

"I said I'm fine!" Kaede exclaimed, "And besides, he didn't hurt me. You can't just blame him like that."

Kokichi gave her a sinister look, "And what would happen if he really is suspicious? You still don't want us to point fingers at him?"

"..."

"Why are you so kind to a stranger, Kaede? You don't know who he is and how he got there in the first place. Didn't your mother tell you not to talk to strangers? I would feel ashamed if she's making her daughter vulnerable to the harsh world out there!"

The mention of her mother made her angry and confused at the same time, considering that part is off-topic for her. "H-h-hey! Why are you - "

"The heck would you know?" The Ultimate Supreme Leader cut her off, "Maybe he pretended to be a young boy who is scared and afraid on the outside, only to make a plan and lure his victims into a death trap. Or maybe, he must have some connections to the one who kidnapped us here in the first place. He's the 'sixteenth student', after all. So, he either might be the mastermind or someone working with the mastermind. Whichever you choose."

"You're just exaggerating. I don't think he would do such a thing." Kaede refutes at Kokichi's accusation, in which the later rolled his eyes at her.

"That's what you think. But what about the others who also have the thought of him being suspicious?" He beckoned to the students where their distressed faces are already in a display for Kaede to see.

By the looks of it, almost half of them showed agreement to Kokichi without even saying anything.

The pianist couldn't help but sigh. They must be thinking about what happened in the entrance hall, where the 'sixteenth student' shocked her. Her classmates still think of him someone who hurt Kaede, and possibly the others if they caught off guard.

From Kaede's deep thinking, Kokichi heard a loud noise coming from the building. Kaito is still banging on the door, he twisted the doorknob even hard that it can jam at any minute.

"Kaito! What do you think you're doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?!" The astronaut asked the same question without looking at Kokichi. Still having an adamant opinion about the 'sixteenth student' now that half of the students are getting suspicious of him, Kaito is getting impatient in waiting. The only thing he could do is to kick the door, giving his foot a good slam to it. Of course, Gonta will also get angry at Kaito one more time.

"Kaito, don't kick the door! You are being stubborn, this will not help anyone."

Kokichi placed his hands on his hips and gave Kaito a childish pout, "Gonta's right, Kaito! You're so reckless! Why don't you listen to the gentleman once in a while?"

The man is surprised at Kokichi, "What the - ?! Didn't you say he's the suspicious one? You know like, he could be either the mastermind or working with the mastermind? I'm just trying to find a way to stop him if ever he is the mastermind!"

"Oh? Did I say that? Looks like I'm being forgetful of my lies so fast that I feel like I'm getting old."

"That was a lie?!"

The boy shrugged, "Hey! I just want to be nice and know the 'sixteenth student' too, you know! You're the one who threatened him in the first place!"

"Nice?!" Kaito questioned Kokichi, "You're the one who thinks of him as a threat!"

"But it wasn't my fault why he ran away from us because you scared him." Kokichi looked at Kaito with a shrug.

"What the - ?! MY FAULT?!" Kaito screeched, "How come it was my fault?! He just ran away from us before Kaede reached him out!"

"But Kokichi's right, Kaito." The voice of the Ultimate Entomologist crept through his ears, making the astronaut jump. The remark makes Kokichi smirk at him, he was finally able to have someone on his side of the argument.

"If Kaito didn't get mad at the 'sixteenth student' for hurting Kaede, then the 'sixteenth student' wouldn't have run away from us."

Despite the sincerity of Gonta's eyes, Kaito could tell that he's also mad at him. A person who pursues in becoming a gentleman like Gonta would push others to do the same manner as he does because that's what gentlemen do to people. And Kaito's intimidation towards the 'sixteenth student' until now makes the entomologist having his patience tested towards the astronaut, and Kaito doesn't want that especially if Gonta's bigger than him.

"See Kaito? At least there's one person who can call out your flaws."

The Ultimate Astronaut couldn't help but to facepalm. He could only turn his head to the locked door until the large man grabbed his jacket.

"Oh no, Kaito! We can't let you break the door and scare our friend again. We are gonna catch 'sixteenth student' gentleman style." Gonta interjected Kaito, much to his surprise that Gonta is being assertive to him. So this is what would happen if he ticks a soon-to-be gentleman off.

From afar, Shuichi Saihara is listening to the conversation between the three of them. He stayed silent after finishing his last round of exploring the building that the 'sixteenth student' locked himself into. Just like Kaede, Shuichi doesn't think that the 'sixteenth student' is suspicious. Perhaps it's because of his deductions as the Ultimate Detective prevents him to jump into conclusions just yet about the person he just met a while ago.

Not only that, the detective has something meddling through his mind when the 'sixteenth student' directly looked at him. The sight of Shuichi made him cower even more from fear, and the detective didn't do anything bad to him yet! Shuichi is not sure what made the 'sixteenth student' scared of him, but he wants to know it in person.

He started walking towards the three while hearing Gonta's suggestion of speaking to the 'sixteenth student' without force that scares him a lot. To Shuichi, it can be a good option coming from a student who was raised by wolves. It's possible that he can provide some help until the sight of the supreme leader make him stop. The kid had other ideas when he pulled out two pieces of metallic pins on his 'suit' while bending them straight, making the unpinned slit expose his bellybutton. Much to the shock of Gonta that he has to remove his blazer just to cover Kokichi, especially he could see Tenko covering the eyes of the Ultimate Magician.

Shuichi fixed his cap and asked, "Kokichi? What are you going to do with those pins?"

The boy in the white attire looks at the detective with a cheeky 'smile' on his face, "I'm gonna pick this lock! Once I get this door to open, we're gonna corner that student and finally catch him!"

From the brim of his cap, Shuichi's widen eyes witness the supreme leader began his work when he inserted the pins into the keyhole. Who knew that Kokichi knows lock picking in the first place. Especially for Kaito Momota, whose anger is rising once more from the reveal.

"You know how to pick a lock while all of us had to do it the hard way..." He muttered towards Kokichi, which the boy doesn't seem to shun as he continued in tweaking the door's lock without even looking to Kaito's eye.

"Of course I know how to pick a lock! It's my secret trick as a supreme leader!"

"WHY. DIDN'T. YOU. TELL US?!"

"Why. Are you. So. PREDICTABLE!" Kokichi imitated Kaito's outburst, "You're so dumb! Out of many solutions of opening a locked door, idiots like you could only think of slamming yourselves through it like a battering ram!"

Shuichi decides to ignore his fellow Ultimate student's remark and think of which is important, "But Kokichi, why didn't you tell us in the first place. It would have been easier for all of us."

The short boy looked at him with eyes glimmering in his anguished face, "And it would have been easier for all of us to even say please to me! When our classmates were having a hard time, I kindly went to them and offered some help so they wouldn't tire themselves out. But when I did, they just yelled and told me to back off! They're so mean to me that I didn't bother to volunteer anymore!" He finished with a sobering sniff.

However the detective raised a brow, "...Were you?"

"Nah, I lied. I just want to see their frustrations when they can't unlock the door, it's so funny you should have seen their faces!" Kokichi cracked a chuckle as his hands stopped moving when he heard a satisfying click from the doorknob.

That sound is heard from all of the students who all looked in the same direction to where the door is, some even ran just to see what's going on.

"There! Open says me!"

A grunt from the entomologist gave himself an approval as he reaches to the doorknob that has a satisfying click from the silence of the students waiting for the anticipation, without anyone noticing Gonta's strange actions from his cheery and gentleman attitude. He immediately pushed the door open and the rest didn't hesitate to enter the boiler room.

* * *

The 'sixteenth student', who locked the students out in the first place, turned around in shock to see his classmates broke in. It's not like he underestimated them either since they are the Ultimates after all, but he's still surprised anyway.

"Hah! We got your metal butt now! I can't wait to get my hands on you! That suit must be really firm to hold on to!" Miu shouted, breaking the serious air of silence much to Kaede's dismay.

"There is nowhere for you to run anymore." Kirumi said in a stoic tone, "Your only choice is to submit in defeat."

They were silent, some even moved to surround their classmate just in case he'll try to escape even though the only exit is the door itself. And by the looks of his distressed face, they knew they finally got him red handed.

"It's either you surrender, or we're going to force you to it." Maki looked at him with a glare that makes the student cower in fear.

"N-no! S-stay away from me!" The 'sixteenth student' recoils, even looking away from the Ultimate Pianist's eyes. The one who he inflicted pain onto, even Kaede felt a big lump on her throat when he intentionally loses sight of her.

Seeing his actions makes Gonta's eyebrows furrow and release a fierce hum that can be heard by anyone beside him, Tenko and Kaito, which they took a step away from him just in case. For Kaede, witnessing the 'sixteenth student' being anxious to them doesn't mean she'll accept that message from the boy. Kaede swallowed the lump and spoke, "Look, I know you didn't mean to hurt me, and we're not going to hurt you as payback. Please! You have to calm down and - "

"It's not that!"

Kaede's eyes blinked, "Huh? What do you mean?"

He stepped back, looking at the ground. The 'sixteenth student' opens his mouth, but not a sound can be heard from his voice. Gonta kept his eyes on the cowering student, his big steps that add to the intimidation from the Ultimate Entomologist as he walks closer.

"Please don't be scared, friend. Gonta won't hurt friend." He softly spoke even though it sounded like he's being hard on the student, who backed away even further.

"...N-no!"

A glare creeps from the pursuing gentleman's eyes slowly that grows deeper and deeper, making Gonta look like he's going to create a silent outburst. The student notices this and tried to shift his eyes to another direction away from the entomologist's menacing stare towards him.

"You getting stubborn. Why you keep on pushing us away like that? That's not good. You're not being good friend."

Gonta's remark made the student blue eyes get in contact with the man's red eyes once more. The student, too, had a glare growing on his face.

"You..."

A large, burly hand is drawn from Gonta, the student 'felt' disgusted by looking at it.

"Don't be a bad friend...Or else."

Gonta took one more step -

 **"DON'T YOU DARE!"**

And it seems something came out of nowhere, an object was flown into the air. It's large, it's brass, and it's circular. It's almost as if they're witnessing a giant penny being flipped.

The fifteen teenagers had their eyes staring at the literal flying saucer as the object is slowly falling right to where it was tossed, who knew there's going to be something bizarre at a mere second right after they met the 'sixteenth' student nearby.

Most of them braced for impact by covering their ears, not because of the object going to fall on them but because they recognized what will happen to the object once it hits on the ground. The obvious answer would be a deafening sound, one that can give damage to their eardrums. They all knew it's a lid of a manhole that 'magically' flew up in the air, as what some would think about that.

Kaede, the person who might have a heavy impact because of the relation to her talent, press her ears hard until she could barely hear anything around her. She could see her classmates had their hands covering their ears, some except one.

The young student in black and white is still staring at the heavy lid, unconscious about the effect on what would happen if it falls on the ground. He seemed calm about it.

She kept on looking at him in concern until the sight of the lid made the student mysteriously vanished as if the object wiped him out of the scene and the following was a loud banging sound that echoes around the room, even the impact made the ground shake a little bit. Kaede pressed her ears as hard as she can, she winced at the piercing frequency that the Ultimate Pianist had to suffer due to her sensitive hearing. It made her want to have nothing to hear from anything after that.

Rantaro is the first one to have his hands taken off from his ears, he could still hear a slight echo from the loud material but he couldn't afford to care about that now that the 'sixteenth student' vanished from thin air. He has his guess that the student escaped from the manhole, but never said a word from his classmates when they started to mumble things again…yet.

Shuichi walked to where the lid of the manhole landed, he has his suspicions set even though the detective had his obvious guess that the student did something right before they were able to break in.

What he saw from the grassy fields doesn't even surprise him, he lifted a long object from the ground that is made of wood while being wrapped around by a thin metal wrapped around it. The Ultimate Detective seemed fascinated by how the device was created in the first place, there was even a splintered dent at the end of the wood. Along with a few rocks on the ground, the 'sixteenth student' was smart enough to use any of Shuichi's classmates to his advantage, such as Gonta Gokuhara's heavyweight that the entomologist didn't know that he fell for the student's trap.

Miu snatched the 'device' that her sneaky classmate created. And by the looks of it, she's pretty ticked.

"A makeshift crowbar made of sticks and some metal tied around, strong enough to at least lift a heavy object if someone is stronger than the other. Tch!"

In a matter of seconds, Miu grabbed the other end of the crowbar and instantly snapped it by her legs to where the spike on her belt adorned. It's like a sword piercing a twig.

The Ultimate Inventor had her arms around her hips as she looked at Gonta, who is looking away from her eyes in shame. "Outsmarted by a Smart Aleck. Nice going, Gonta!" Miu commented sarcastically, "You just have to scare him away. I thought you're the 'Ultimate Entomologist', you can take care of a bug but you're not smart enough to beat a mantis with a metal hiney!"

The large man placed his hands together over his head, Miu could hear him whimpering. "Gonta is really sorry! Gonta is really REALLY sorry! He just wants to be his friend!", he cried out.

"Too bad our classmate was shy enough to run away from you, Gonta. Other than that, our classmate is such a bad person. What kind of a person who would use a fellow human to their evil schemes? From the sound of that, they're pretty sadistic in doing it. Without having the care of what would happen in the aftermath, that's just cruel. " Kokichi said with a frown.

Ryoma rolled his eyes, "And I suppose it's not you?"

The supreme leader answered with a shrug, "Well, you got me there. I do have a reputation, but his was just ridiculous."

"We just need to follow him then." Kaede faced her classmates, despite having a slight ringing headache.

"Gonta? Mind if you do us a favor?" Rantaro asked the entomologist, who turned around while rubbing his face by his coat sleeve. The green-haired teen points to where the lid rests, "If you want to redeem yourself, I think the time is now. You have to open the lid so we can follow him."

Gonta didn't hesitate nor say another word, his large fingers started to pick up the heavy object.

Kokichi yawned. "Can't you go any faster, Gonta? Go! Go! Or else you won't be forgiven!" The short teen fronted a childlike appeal. For albeit, he also wanted to see what that object really was. Who knows? It might be interesting stuff.

And by the sound of it, Kokichi's 'insulting' cheer make Gonta obliviously empowered by it. He even threw the lid away from them enough to get some of their jaws dropped, especially the drooling Miu...again.

Tenko commented, "I can't believe he threw it like a flying disk..."

For a 'gentleman', the entomologist sure is strong.

"We'll take that as a concern later. Otherwise, the 'sixteenth student' will be out of our sight!" Kirumi replied as she and the others started to climb down from the manhole.

Shuichi had already whistled if he ever knew how to do it. Setting aside his fascination, he stepped forward again to look over where the heavy object was placed before. "That kinda solves our problem," Kaede mused, as Kokichi put his hands on her shoulders.

"Yep!" Kokichi smiled, whether in innocence or mischief. As he slightly pushed Kaede, "Look what it is, Kaede!"

Tsumugi had already climbed down the ladder, the cosplayer noticed that some people are missing from the scene. Confused, she looked up from the open hole, seeing Kaede, Shuichi, and Kokichi are remaining from above.

"Hey, guys!" She called from the bottom, "You gotta get down here right away!"

"Ah right..." Shuichi voiced out as he decided to follow, but froze on his spot as he turned back to Kaede and Kokichi.

"Uhm, Kaede, you can go first,"

"Wow, gentleman, huh," Kokichi teased with a wide grin, "Or you wanted to go first Shuichi, and then Kaede, so you'll see what's under her skirt,"

Shuichi's face flared in red. But before Shuichi could react, Kaede had disappeared from the scene. "You'll be left here," Kokichi said lowly as he followed to go down the ladder after Kaede. This made Shuichi snapped back in reality.

"I know..." Shuichi sighed and followed down.

* * *

Everyone is present, they began to look around the big area that the fifteen have recently discovered.

"It's more spacious than I thought it'd might be..." Ryoma commented.

Kokichi spins around on his like a child he was, amazed at where he is currently that his curiosity is sparking. Even playing with the echoes in the new location, "Yodelay-hee-hooo!"

"What is this place...?" Maki murmured that the maid could hear her voice.

Kirumi tapped her chin while her eyes adjusted from the lack of light, "An old industrial passageway, I suspect...Perhaps factories once existed here?"

"And this is all that's left of 'em." Kaito concluded.

Meanwhile, Rantaro had his eyes on what it seems to be a large, dark tunnel. It makes sense since the one that caught Rantaro his attention is a wooden sign. "Hey, take look at this," he called everyone.

Shuichi quickly focused his attention on the supposed dark tunnel. Tunnel? Seriously? "We discovered something again..." Kaede muttered to herself as Kokichi popped behind her. "Hmm... It might lead to somewhere," Kokichi said, "Who says who wants to go there!" He raised his hand excitedly.

The 'talentless' student twitched a smile, "What a considerate sign...Apparently, the end of the tunnel is the exit." he speculated.

However, Tenko didn't notice the slight sound of the degenerate male's sarcasm or perhaps Rantaro is too stupid enough to notice. "Ummm...Considerate? You don't think it's weird that someone went out of their way to write 'Exit'?", Tenko asked.

Miu suddenly stepped forward, grinning widely as she yelled, "Hah-haha! Don't pee yourself with fear! Your natural scent is bad enough!"

"Uhh..." Shuichi deadpanned, trying to guess who she was referring to. Well, he had an idea who, but...that was something out of the blue.

Tenko's eyes grew wide, "I-I'm not scared! And I smell just fine!"

From the 'friendly argument', other students like Angie is doing something else, if not peculiar. The Ultimate Artist is humming heavily, she looked like she obliviously puckered up a rotten lemon.

"Aha!"

The artist opened her eyes wide...

At the same time a loud noise of metal echoing through the tunnel, the fifteen Ultimates had their ears on the strange sound coming out from nowhere. But before anyone could ask, Angie smiled as her legs began to hop. "Atua has spoken from above! He knows the way! Come along, my friends! We must not hesitate! Our friend is near!" She bounced on the tunnel's step, while everyone else was dumbfounded.

"Well then, go ahead. No point standing around here." Rantaro said, growing a little impatient.

"No need to worry! It looks a bit dangerous, but we're all Ultimates here! As long as we work together, everything will work out just fine!" Kaede suggested as she faced everyone, "Let me go first then, and the rest will follow. Agreed?"

However, her persuasion was not enough to convince the supreme leader. But instead of a frontal rebuttal, he smiled and slide towards her, "Kaede, bravery has a place in knighthood, not in here. Well, like Miu said, how about the guys here to take initiative? Anyone?" Kokichi roamed his sight around if ever someone would raise their hand to go first.

Rantaro had to roll his eyes from Kokichi's behavior. Silence took over the area.

"I think I regret something," Kokichi muttered.

"Well, you..." Kaede eyed him annoyingly, "You just interfere too much, hm?"

Kokichi still grinned, "Don't care,"

"I think it's a good idea... Let's go," Shuichi decided to go with the flow.

* * *

Upon performing the first step in walking to the dark tunnel, the first thing they ever thought was exhaustion. And it's not that normal considering they chased down a student who was afraid of them for no reason, then getting outsmarted by the same person.

They don't know what was wrong with them, but their bodies are getting sore and their breaths are flowing shorter.

Shuichi groaned. "It's even dark around here...Man..." His shoulders slumped, feeling tired on the run. "It feels like I didn't run for years..."

"Or another year..." Tsumugi replied with a heave of her breath, despite she's walking instead of following Angie and run. Kirumi is behind the group to make sure no one was left behind or someone following them.

She walked towards her two classmates, "Shuichi's exhaustion leaves me another question..."

"Another question?" the cosplayer asks.

The person who had been quiet for a while raised his hand, "What do...you mean?" Shuichi voiced out.

"Well, we didn't forget that we've been kidnaped in a school that we don't even know where it is located." Kirumi reminded.

Maki suddenly meddled in. "We all know that. Probably that long passage can tell us something regarding this stuff,"

Kokichi eyed to Maki slyly, having a serious facade about her 'statement'.

"Plan, guys?" Kaito voiced out, frowning, "But we need to stick together to make sure whatever your decision will ensure our safety,"

"Oh, pooey!" Kokichi chimed in, "Boring!"

A hand from the cosplayer grabs everyone's attention. "Well, I know I don't give people suggestions whenever I'm not in a mood but..." Tsumugi looked around the dark corridors for a second before she continued, "If the sign we saw earlier said 'Exit' and probably the 'sixteenth student' must have entered this place, shouldn't we follow him?"

Korekiyo crossed his arms, using his left hand to caress his face mask.

"It won't hurt to enter the dark den. Humans love to take second thoughts but in our current situation...we should take the risk..."

"I didn't know you're there," Miu said while trying not to scream inside the tunnel.

Korekiyo bowed slightly, "My pleasure,"

"Ya shall go first then. You suggested it, so go!" Kokichi said flatly to Tsumugi.

Kaede cringed. "Uhh...

Tsumugi jumped. It's not just the part when Kokichi pointed her into volunteering, but because her classmates listened to her.

She holds her hands forward while stepping back, "W-wait! You're actually listening to me?!"

Rantaro shrugged, "Why? You look surprised."

"When I said a suggestion, I didn't mean you have to keep your ears at me!" Tsumugi replied with her face turning red slowly.

The Aikido Master said otherwise, "Then that would be rude to a friend. We girls have to stick to each other, and that means listening with extreme focus!"

Shuichi...in the other hand, was silent and... "We have trusted each other for a long time..."

Kaede turned to him, "Are you saying something, Shuichi?"

"A-Ah, nothing. Just don't mind me..." he waved his hand.

"Well, shall we?" Ryoma said, starting with the other students.

"FUDGE YEAH!" Miu exclaimed.

The Ultimate Cosplayer blinked once, and then twice. Still confused that she felt being rushed into the scenario that everyone is working together many times already, even when she met her classmates from the start. There was that aura around her that wasn't supposed to belong in the first place, probably she overthinks herself that she was kidnapped and yet the others think that it's oddly normal for them. To the point, they're challenging themselves in escaping the place in one day.

That rush sense of...optimism makes her a bit uncomfortable.

But then again, if it makes the situation to be solved fast then she had no choice. Tsumugi took a deep breath and spoke, "Alright, guys! Follow me!"

Suddenly, the Supreme Leader ran first before her, "Oh, heck no! I won't follow to a fraudster like you!" He pushed further in the tunnel despite the teen breathing heavily.

"Kokichi!" Kaede yelled, and shook her head, "Well, we will meet each other in the end anyway... Let's go Tsumugi,"

"Unpredictable," was Maki's only comment. And everyone followed the cosplayer.

* * *

 **START ESCAPE**

* * *

Despite not having lungs, Ki-Bo breathed heavily. He still didn't get the metal gate open on his own, the robot began to think that he should have brought that crowbar he made earlier or make another one if time was with him. Frustration began to switch his circuits to shake the grills as Ki-Bo is desperately thinking of another way to get pass through the gate, even though he knows what will happen if he took a step out afterward.

"I just ho-, wish, I remembered the pattern..." Ki-Bo whispered while he rests his head on the cold metal as his limp, robotic hands slid down. The robot knows the risk, and he wanted to make them safe.

Even if he has to take so many hits, just so nothing would hurt them.

He could hear the faint sound of footsteps echoing the tunnel, it began to ring louder and louder that familiar voices soon followed.

 _"Hey! I could see light up ahead!"_

 _"Could you at least slow down? We're not trying to get ourselves killed!"_

 _"Are those stairs I'm seeing? And a gate?"_

Ki-Bo already expected to have his classmates following him because of the obvious, what he didn't expect was that Tsumugi is the one leading them. The naive robot thought that Kaede would be the one headfirst. Another factor was that they listened to Tsumugi Shirogane, Ultimate Cosplayer, and the one who doesn't want to speak up when she's not in the mood to the fact that she's treated as a background character! How come that...that...monster luring Ki-Bo's friends into a trap?!

"No...Tsumugi..." He could only shake his head slowly, the robot is trying not to panic. Who knows what would Tsumugi's deceit do next to his friends? Tell them that Ki-Bo is the mastermind of the game? Kill him before he kills them? Or execute him early? Whatever she's going to say, he doesn't want to end up like what happened the last time.

The last time loop still traumatized him, Ki-Bo doesn't want to feel cold hands grabbing him to the underworld.

Not again.

The robot took several steps back until he reached the end of the stairs and take one last look at the large gate. It's just only one of the obstacles he has to deal with and he still couldn't get through, it was like that thing looking down on him for being weak. It's annoying.

Ki-Bo looked back and see that his classmates appearing one by one at the top of the stairs, starting with Kokichi jumping with excitement when the supreme leader saw him as a toy. Then it was followed by Ryoma, Kirumi, Tenko, Angie, Gonta...

...and Tsumugi.

"Come on, guys! I think he's giving up running!" The cosplayer called the others behind, she didn't even notice that Ki-Bo was glaring at her.

He doesn't have time for them looking down at him, nor explain that Tsumugi's luring them to a trap once he's caught.

Ki-Bo took a deep 'breath' and closed his eyes, "I can't believe I'm doing this."

Once his eyes opened, he started to run even though something is blocking his way. The others took notice of this trick that Tenko chased after him. Hopefully, her so-called classmate won't get hurt. It's good enough that the Aikido Master doesn't judge him for being a robot...or a degenerate male.

But once she reached out her hand and attempts to grab him, Ki-Bo jumped towards the gate with his arms protecting his face. Tenko had to stop before she gets involved in his crazy stunt, with her heels skid on the floor.

He knew he regretted using himself as a battering ram, but he had no choice. Ki-Bo was able to make the gate open, though the problem is that he couldn't' stop himself from going into a ditch. The robot lost his balance and landed his face on the cement floor, he was also expecting something else on the way too. But in the mere second, his eyes opened to see objects hanging above him. They didn't move, they were acting as if being displayed on the walls without any suspicion at all.

"Wh...what?" Ki-Bo sat up looking at the path he entered. Not only his classmates are getting uncomfortable with the way he acts, but the place is strangely silent.

He couldn't hear any sound; not even the sound of small propellers roaming around, nor the sound of raging flames erupting under the floor.

 **I wasn't hit...**

 **I didn't fall...**

 **Why wasn't I...**

"Oh my gosh! Is he okay?" The robot heard the voice of Tsumugi, and it's sour.

People like Ryoma, Angie, and Maki have already entered the gates easily without triggering any booby traps like the trap door on the bottom that supposed to make them fall. He doesn't understand what's going on, and the traps were supposed to work like what they originally intended to do. First Tsumugi leading the group and now the traps didn't work, someone must have been playing with his own mind.

His metallic hand curled into a fist and shook his head, Tsumugi Shirogane has had her first move minutes ago, he had to move on to his plan in leaving the Death Maze where his classmates got tricked into Despair from the past couple of loops.

The show must go on.

Looking at his classmates for the last time, Ki-Bo started to run.

* * *

"Hey wait!" Kaede saw the 'sixteenth student' running away once more. This time, it's like he's escaping from them.

Tsumugi bit her lip, "Come on guys! Let's follow him!"

The cosplayer followed her stowaway classmate while hiding the part where she's giving him distance as she's always the one who gets the deadly glares from the 'sixteenth student'. She doesn't know why, but maybe he doesn't like ordinary people bad for him. Of all her classmates, Tsumugi is like the background character of this crazy story. From her outfit to her talent that only applies knowledge in anime fashion and the aspects of anime along with its characters in the plot. Unlike other people who do extraordinary things such as inventing like Miu, telling the constellations and other heavenly bodies like Kaito, or even being the evil leader that everyone bows to his dictatorship. Heck, even her classmate who doesn't even remember his talent was given attention by the students. His mysterious aura and calm composure will sure present some suspicion from him sooner or later.

But her? She's just ordinary, cosplaying is already an ordinary talent that anyone from this entire world would be dressing up as their favorite characters. Especially kids, whose parents were supportive of their passion and showcase it to the world. As for the Ultimate Cosplayer, she's not even cosplaying at all. She makes the costumes, but not even wearing it. It's ironic for a student being the titleholder of the Ultimate.

Yeah, maybe that's why he doesn't like her.

Ryoma, the Ultimate Tennis Pro, has been noticing something when they venture to the tunnel further. Aside from the suspicious display of what it seems to be like bombs, his own eyes make him see of what's more. There were more gates that the 'sixteenth student' had to ram himself in order to be opened, cages hanging from the ceiling compartments, and pits that looks like the fall will be long and eerie. The most surprising part where those platforms floating from their place, or even frozen on their spot. Seeing those brick-like platforms reminds him of a game that he played when he was young, a plumber was jumping around the pipes and had a goal of saving a princess from a monstrous tortoise.

His mouth started to twitch, even if he doesn't want to say a word. But he gives in any way, for some odd reason though.

"Guys, be careful. I could see more traps. I don't know what they do, but we better be cautious around here."

The tennis pro gave himself a facepalm, they actually heard his warning. They heard a warning from a criminal like Ryoma, who murdered people from the mafias with a metal tennis ball. From this fact, they shouldn't have listened to him. But if they did, they shouldn't even say a word afterward.

"Got it, Ryoma. Thank you."

However, Kaede was the one who might forget about that fact. His facepalm doubled as he slowly slips his beanie closer to his eyes, he tried not to look at the pianist either way.

His cheeks are getting warmer, that's weird.

The travel seemed like forever, they kept on following the 'sixteenth student' in hopes of finding the exit is slowly fading away. Even the mysterious student himself is getting agitated when he kept on tripping or breaking the gate open with his heavy body, he's even close to collapsing but he didn't care. It makes him lonely and crazy at the same time.

But despite the hard challenge, the fifteen have something that the lone man didn't.

The answer is simple. It was teamwork and motivation.

Tsumugi is the one leading the group, while Kaede is the one who supports them. Aiding her cosplaying friend on what to do and making sure that everyone is present and safe. If exhausted, Kirumi is the one who brings them back on their feet. Maki, on the other hand, was the one who had to push the others or even help the maid when her classmates are getting stubborn. Kaito, Angie, and Tenko were really the cheerleaders, if not counting the trolling Kokichi when teasing the others.

And from what Ryoma said a while ago, there were booby traps that needed to avoid. Though the traps didn't do anything but scare the heck out of Kaito, the best they could do is to pass them. The platforms were tricky to jump onto, either they were far or look unsafe to take a step. They even had to watch how their escaping classmate able to get through them without stop.

Rantaro was the one who volunteered on trying to jump on the platforms to make sure it's safe for the others to follow. It's effective that the green-haired man to hop on them as if he's showing off, Tsumugi and Tenko had to roll their eyes as a physical response.

When the entomologist sees that it's still unsafe for the others to jump in, he offered himself to help the...small kids to reach the platforms without any harm. Though Kokichi got a little 'offended' on what the gentleman was trying to say about the situation, Himiko climbed onto Gonta's back immediately.

The child caregiver's eyes are considered to be the navigator, she's been keeping an eye on the 'sixteenth student'. She must have good training in keeping children under her watch very well, though hearing two words would make some alarmed.

"Oh great..."

The good news is, all of them were able to pass through many of the booby traps.

The bad news is, they're losing sight of the 'sixteenth student'. The last thing they could hear was the sound of metal clashing against each other, and it's louder than the last ones.

All of the fifteen saw another gate opened on its own, they were hoping this might be the last one because jumping the last platforms was a pain in the knee.

* * *

Running to the last gate actually hurts afterward, Ki-Bo had to kneel just to catch his 'breath'.

"I...made it...I made it..." The robot whispered in between breaths. Even though he's still exhausted from running, he pushes himself to stand up and walk. Ki-Bo knows he's a time traveler, but going through it from numerous loops already tires him out.

He turned around to where the tunnel ended, his classmates are nowhere to be seen. It's either they're taking long at the last obstacle course or they weren't able to make it at all like the last time loops where everyone gave up.

Ki-Bo sighed. Only his voice echoed around the new, but familiar place he entered.

The room is covered with wires, pipes, and metal. Each of the sides has electric screens that show graphs from different sections, there's even a gauge installed.

And in front of him, is the door that led to the false exit. The metallic door is shielded with a sensor that could send an alarm to notify the Danganronpa mascot that someone has infiltrated the facility.

Ki-Bo already knew what's outside, and he would rather not witness the incident that made his friends almost fall into Despair.

It even cost two lives just for one motive.

The silence didn't last as his 'ears' sensed the footsteps of his classmates. He blinked, he never thought that his friends were able to make it through the gate. The tunnel was the hardest place to pass, it caused his friends to get angry at Kaede. It caused Rantaro's life, and it caused the pianist to get executed.

It even made Shuichi suffer.

Though happy that his friends finally finished the disharmonious minigame, the robot turned away from the door and walked towards the eerie hallway.

* * *

 _"We finally made it."_

 _"It felt like this incredibly long tunnel would go on forever, but we made it..."_

 _"And waiting for us at the end was..."_

Kaede circled the new area that she and her friends discovered.

It was a long corridor that has metal floors, spotlights, and something that everyone had been looking for.

"...Huh? Is this...the exit?" The pianist's eyes were glued to metal door clasped together by a large lock in the middle while encased on what it looks like an electric shield.

"It looks like it..." Kokichi answered from his soft voice, "There's a door there, so it must be obvious..."

Himiko rubbed her eyes, "I guess I'm dreaming."

"No no! This is real, Atua lead us to the right place at the right time!" Angie tiptoed to get a better view when she was behind her classmates.

Tsumugi reached her cheek, she pressed two of her fingers together and slowly pulled her skin until it grew red and painful.

"Ow! Himiko's wrong, this isn't a dream!" Tsumugi cringed as she rubbed her skin.

The place is silent at first as everyone was in a trance of the jackpot until a familiar face jumped in front of them.

Monokuma.

Shuichi's eyebrows furrowed as he remembered that none of the Monokuma Cubs or Monokuma himself, appeared when the gymnasium went on a blackout. They weren't even seen by the time they got out, chased the 'sixteenth student', or even going through the booby trap-filled tunnel. It's almost like they didn't exist if any of them remembered that they were forced into the so-called Killing Game Semester.

"I...I...Wait, give me time to say my lines, please...Phew!"

The black and white bear looked like he needed some exercise, his fur is dripping with sweat. Heck, he's even breathing heavily with his long tongue exposed to the students.

Monokuma cleared his throat, "I-I can't believe you guys actually beat that escape game on the hardest difficulty...!'

Rantaro folded his arms and looked at Monokuma, "So that tunnel was supposed to knock us out from the game?"

"Pfft! Hahahaha! I can't believe you still screwed up! You can't possibly throw us out of the roof like that! Not when I'm around at least." Miu smirked when she finished her sentence.

Gonta nods as he smiled from the success, "All of us help pass obstacles! We never give up!"

Kaito stomped his foot on the floor and lift his chin in triumph, "It's all about teamwork, Monokuma. And with the fifteen of us and one tunnel, nothing stopped us from finding the exit! We win and you lose!"

The bear's arm twitched, "Grrhhhh...So...frustrating! That minigame was supposed to bring you to Despair! You were supposed to turn against each other every time you lose! That optimism...that Hope...it's...Despair Inducing!"

The others blinked in confusion.

"I know! I know! This wasn't according to the plan! But...this Despair...I must celebrate it!"

Monokuma sprinted to the ramp and hopped on the control panel.

"Congratulations! The exit's this way!"

Kaede raised a brow. The one who kidnapped them is letting go of his captors that easily? Why would he?

She swallowed her big lump and spoke, "R-Really? The outside world is beyond this door?!"

"Well, that strange friend of yours knew where he was going, right? So if this is the place he went, then it's sure to be the exit. And on the other side, the outside world that you guys have been so desperate to see! " Monokuma replied as his paws smashed onto the keyboard.

That does remind Rantaro that the 'sixteenth student' is still on the loose, the young man looked on the dark side of the corridor. Technically, it's not that dark, but it looks like it's not a safe place to explore for now. He would suggest to his classmates that they should keep on looking for their lost classmate, but his mouth remained shut.

Because hearing Monokuma's words makes the students having smile creeping on their lips.

"Is this for real? We're going home?" Tenko asked out loud.

Angie clasped her hands together, "All of us are going to be free! Finally, our prayers have been answered!"

Korekiyo responded with a nod, the hostage-taker realized that holding them captive in the school isn't worthy for a killing game. However, Ryoma looked down. If he's out, then he's going back to the jail cell where he will be waiting for the death sentence to occur. It weird for a 'killer' to feel any remorse. Maki never said a word, but she's starting to act strangely.

Himiko yawned, "Thank goodness, I can go home and sleep in my nice comfy bed. Too bad I can't take a vacation here anymore, I can imagine the bed looks fine to me."

"You got used to this school already?!" Tsumugi jumped from the magician's word of communication.

The supreme leader gave a pout, "Awww, what a bummer."

Kaede fell silent as she looked at her classmates celebrated in joy. She was proud that her classmates were able to survive the tunnel that was filled with traps, and they did it by working together.

 _"W-We finally did it!"_

 _"We can get out!"_

 _"We worked together as Ultimate students and finally made it out!"_

They can escape from the joke of a killing game and live on with her newfound companions.

 _"But that's not the end for us, is it? After we get out, we're all going to stay friends."_

She didn't notice that tears are starting to flow under her eyes, which Shuichi took notice.

"Kaede? Are you alright?" The detective asks.

The sight of Shuichi broke out from her trance and she was able to realize that she's crying, Kaede smiled and wipe her tears.

"Sorry, Shuichi. I'm just happy that's all." She shrugged while Shuichi responded with a soft smile.

He sighed, "So am I. It was so long. we thought there was no end...But there was an end indeed."

 _"Beyond this world, there has to be something that's even more amazing!"_

 _"If I think of that...then this is just a **new beginning**."_

With determination, she took a step forward.

"Alright! Hurry up and open the door!" Kaede commands Monokuma, and the bear gave the students a thumbs up.

"Hiii! Welcome back!" Monokuma greeted the students as they gathered together close to the door.

They all stood tall and strong.

Their hard work finally gave them a warm victory.

They should be proud of themselves.

At last, the shield is disabled and the door is free to unlock for their freedom.

Sounds of alarms were ringing within the exit as the heavy door is slowly opening, bright light is emerging from the growing slit.

When the door is completely open, the light is slowly fading.

Into something...

 **Unimaginable.**

* * *

What they see isn't just a city, but it's a city that is desolated. Red clouds covered the bright sun as the disturbing atmosphere clouded the Ultimates' minds, it's like they were hallucinating of something bad.

However, this is not a hallucination.

It's real.

The demolished buildings, the scattered vehicles, the bent signs...

It's all real right in front of their eyes.

This isn't freedom.

This isn't hope.

This is Despair.

.

.

.

.

.

"What...?" Kaede is the first one to respond.

"What...is this?" The detective followed.

All of the students of the Ultimate Academy of Gifted Juveniles are stunned at what they witness.

The looks on their faces make Monokuma laugh, "...Puhu. Puhuhuhuhu. Whaddaya think of the outside world?"

Her breathing is heavy as the pianist took a step forward with her eyes still wide open from the shock, "This is...the outside world...?"

"What's with the faces? This is the ending you guys were hoping for..." Monokuma said as he slowly pushes Kaede further to the other side of the door until she's the first person to actually step out.

Kaede is still unresponsive, but her own body is acting like a puppet when walking far away from the door.

She and her friends are supposed to be free, it doesn't make any sense! They all worked together, the exit was presented to them as a gift of light shining from the darkness. The friends that she first met, had the same objective; to leave the school safe and sound.

The young woman wanted to believe that she only entered in a simulation because it's not real.

But it is real, she can even feel the air and the ground real.

"Now then, congratulations on graduating! Please take flight and re-enter the society! Ah-hahahahahahaha!"

It was the second time Monokuma left them alone on their own, in the desolated society they were living all this time.

Kaede tried to move, but could only make a twitch of her hand.

"No way..."

They all wanted to move, but they couldn't. They're stuck in the madness of the world they witnessed.

Shocking enough for Gonta and Tsumugi to make everyone snap out of their trance and being alarmed from the condition of the two students.

Kaito placed his hands on his chest, "What's going on? What is this - "

His eyes widened, he could feel his chest compressing together without his consent.

"Ugh...! I - I can't breathe!"

It's like he's been stuffed with chloroform and losing consciousness until he falls down on the floor.

The rest of the students got the same results, they either cover their mouths or they're frustrated that they can't stand up long.

Korekiyo collapsed on his knees, "Wh...the smell...why can't I...breathe?"

"Gh...the...gas..." Kirumi struggled to answer until her body feels heavy, and so were her eyes as she lost consciousness.

The others couldn't last long, Korekiyo is already knocked out and so was Angie.

Tenko is having a hard time walking, especially since she saw Himiko and Kokichi both unconscious since they were near to the door.

Rantaro saw what the girl was doing and is going to faint soon, he mustered up his strength as he sprint towards Tenko with her arm reached out. He was able to catch her when she falls, but so was he.

From afar, Maki saw Kaede still standing in the outside world. But it's not the gas she's worried about, there's something else she saw beyond.

She's not sure if the gas is making her delusional, but mutilated figures that look like humans? First the outside world is nothing but a fallacy, then some weird creatures are running towards the shocked pianist.

Hallucinated or not, Kaede is in danger.

"K-Kaede! ...Get in here! Gah...No...Not now...!" As much as Maki wants to help, she was also knocked out from the gas.

The inventor hesitated on taking a step and her sight is turning black, but she had no choice as much as she wants to cower from behind.

But still, Miu is now alarmed by the situation. Kaidiot needs help, and the gorgeous inventor is the only one who can do it!

With almost no one to nag into from volunteering someone else instead, Miu covers her nose and mouth by her sleeve and took a step. The young woman almost tripped but she is able to regain her balance.

"Of all the things I did, I have to be the one in saving the idiot." She walked slowly, but then the inventor walked faster when she's seeing things just like what Maki saw earlier.

She was able to reach out Kaede's shoulders and started to shake her when the pianist still isn't responding.

"Kaede! Hey Kaede! You idiot! Can you even hear me? Come on, we need to get inside!"

Miu's hand gripped tighter on Kaede's shoulder, the genius doesn't have time for drama!

She turned the pianist around in anger, "Darn it, Kaede! Stop being stubborn or else -!"

There were heavy tears, and they were flowing under Kaede's eyes. Heck, her eyes are slightly scary because it looked like they're popping out from her sockets. Miu would have commented that Kaede looked hideous, but she would rather not say it. The reasons were unknown to her 'out of character' moment, but it doesn't matter. From her arrogant composure, sympathy emerges from her. Her sight may slowly darken, but falling unconscious isn't her priority now.

She placed her other hand, the one that covers her face from the gas, on to Kaede's shoulders. Miu slightly leaned down to the pianist's height and looked into her eyes.

"Kaede. Are you...alright?" Miu's sweet voice was able to resonate with Kaede's ears, she is able to look at her while her tears still flowing.

She bit her lip while trying to make a word, "...M...M...M-Miu...I-I..."

Suddenly, Kaede fell silent once more. But this time, her own body is shaking. Miu is confused why Kaede is shaking, the air isn't that cold. However, goosebumps crept in. If goosebumps were a sign of fear, then there's something scary nearby. Really nearby.

One of the rules of scary movies is to never turn your back on a killer or a monster. And yet, Miu still broke that said rule.

Right behind her looked hideous. A single entity has appeared, but she couldn't tell what it is. The only word she could describe from the monstrosity is 'disgusting'.

From top to bottom, flesh is exposed and dripping with blood. The face is mostly unrecognizable, but it makes you want to turn around. There is another smell from the outside and it came from them, it's also disgusting that you could almost lose your lunch.

"Wh...what the...?"

All in all, it's disgusting.

 **"WHAT THE HHHHEEEELLLLL?!"**

* * *

Shuichi's eyes were almost closed until Miu's voice wakes him.

Only he and Ryoma were the only ones remain standing, but only because they had their hats covering their noses. Lucky them, perhaps if they could still breathe through it.

Everyone was knocked out cold, and the former tennis pro peeked outside to see that Kaede and Miu were being held by something or someone.

"Kaede! Miu!" Ryoma holds on to his hat from his nose tighter as he rushed towards the two from the outside.

Shuichi reached out his hand to stop Ryoma or he might get knocked out too, but he remembered Kaede outside of the door. And with her and Miu being attacked by something unknown, he couldn't let his friends die!

Gripping his cap tight, he marched outside seeing Miu already unconscious and Kaede barely awake. Shuichi also sees Ryoma fending off some...one.

"Ryoma!" He called the Killer Tennis out, in which the small man shove the attacker out of the way.

"We need to get inside now! I could see more of them! Just help Kaede and Miu!"

Shuichi nodded from Ryoma's commands, and he isn't questioning why.

He lifted Miu from his back while helping Kaede in standing up. And by golly, she's really crying. He understands why, no need to ask her.

But while helping the girls back inside, he felt something grabbing his arms. Shuichi was yanked by the same creature and having his mouth exposed from the air, his gasp catches the scent of gas and he's experiencing the same effects.

"I-I...can't...breathe!"

He couldn't stay up much longer, and he's still holding Miu. Which means, both of them will be in trouble. Kaede tried to push the scary creature away from Shuichi, but she's too weak.

Ryoma saw them in trouble, his anger is now boiling. Like a bull, he rams himself to the attacker and knocked it out from its grasp on Shuichi.

There's no time, he must get them inside.

* * *

From one last push, the four were safe from the outside world.

Despite Shuichi covered both of his nose and mouth from the gas, he was already knocked out from his first step inside the facility.

Ryoma looked behind him when he heard the alarms booming inside once more, the door that leads to the outside world is closing until the two slabs of metal are sealed together.

 **[The door...is now...locked]**

"...W-Why?"

Ryoma heard Kaede's voice, and she's still breathing despite being the one who is exposed most from the gas she inhaled. The question of why gave the tennis player sympathy for her, he couldn't stop feeling bad when she's the person who is optimistic about leaving the killing game unharmed.

"Why? How...could this...be?"

"Kaede."

She sniffed, "We...W-We were so close to being free! I-I d-don't understand!"

Ryoma closed his eyes, "We fell for his trap."

"I just thought..." Kaede's voice is slowly distorted from her sobbing, "That we could be friends...once we...once we get out! We made it and he...he tricked us...and...and...It's all my fault and..."

Her breathing is slowly fading away in her cries.

"No. No, Kaede! You have to stay up!" Ryoma shakes her in trying to stay awake, and he can't be alone now. Everyone passed out by the air they breathe from the outside world, or what's remaining of it. Looking around of almost 'dead' people made him dizzy, this isn't like him. Worrying of his classmates' conditions are normal, but having fear of something he doesn't know about isn't.

He doesn't know what's happening next or why he's anxious about the unknown.

"Huh?" The man looked down to see his hands are visibly shaking.

"I'm...shaking? How did that happen? Why are my hands shaking like this?" Ryoma whispered hoarsely. Sooner or later, his own body might be out of control.

 _"It seems you've forgotten, so I'll remind you._

 _I'm a murderer."_

Ryoma released a huge sigh and closed his hands, maybe it might stop his hands from shaking. He shouldn't release his emotions in front of anyone, or Kaede who might be more worried about him than her well being.

"I'm sorry...guys...I really am..."

He looked at Kaede directly into her eyes, "Don't push it, Kaede. You can't just blame yourself for something we didn't know about. Just don't close your eyes, or you might pass out."

As much as Kaede wants to open her eyes, they're too heavy for her to see. She's close to unconsciousness.

Ryoma grit his teeth, "Darn it, stop playing sleep! Come on, Kaede! Stay with me!"

His voice sounds like he's more desperate than before.

From Kaede's dark vision, she could see Ryoma's face looking scared for her.

And it was the last thing before she couldn't stay awake for Ryoma, her body feels light and her breathing is no more.

 _"Kaede come on, wake up! Can you hear me? Kaede?"_

 **"KAEDE!"**

* * *

 **==END==**

* * *

"The world is cruel. It's sad, but true. The world is strange. It's doubtful, but true. Is the Flower Garden real or fake?"

\- Sawano Hiroyuki (Blumenkranz)

* * *

 **Fun Shout Outs:**

1\. The Monitors from [Future Arc] Danganronpa 3: The End Of Hope's Peak Academy

2\. 'Rotten Orange' is from [Despair Arc] Danganronpa 3: The End Of Hope's Peak Academy

3\. The Looney Tunes series characters; Lola Bunny, Tweety, and Roadrunner

4\. The Walking Dead series

5\. The 'Hopebot' nickname from the Danganronpa fans before Ki-Bo's real name was released

6\. 'Super High School Level' is the Japanese localized title from the 'Ultimate' title in the English version

7\. The line 'As if he had his own body is in a spring lock suit, only a mechanic can only unlock it (except he's a human so)' is s reference to the Five Nights at Freddy's indie game. Mostly about the spring lock suits and its mechanisms.

8\. 'Puberty' became a running gag in Disney and Pixar movies like Big Hero 6 and Inside Out.

9\. Geronimo Stilton is a (mouse) character in Elisabetta Dami's children storybook series of the same name. Geronimo is an Editor In Chief of the 'Rodent's Gazette' newspaper publication. The reason why Ryoko pointed him out is that of the different communication mediums the two used; Geronimo uses the print medium, while Ryoko uses the digital medium.

10\. The lockpicking scene from Chapter 3

11\. The line of 'Seeing those brick-like platforms reminds him of a game that he played when he was young, there was a plumber jumping around the pipes and had a goal of saving a princess from a monstrous tortoise' is a reference to the Super Mario Brothers video game.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Please read):**

Okay, so I was finally able to finish chapter seven that is filled with 20 thousand words and more...Seriously, I gotta put myself a word limit or something T_T

And I can't believe I've been on hiatus in... *looks at the calendar* SEVEN MONTHS?! OH MY GOD!

I can explain. Aside from the school making me busy, it was the WRITERS BLOCK that made me lost my roll. To be honest, I guess this is the least favorite chapter I've written because of how long it wasn't posted.

I got stuck in the Team Danganronpa segment first when I Ryoko is the narrator and then comes the conversation between the four without Makoto. I also got ticked when I can't find the right words that I had to ask my classmates about what word was the action I was trying to tell from my mind.

Another part I got stuck with is the V3 kids themselves when interacting with each other, it's challenging too. Sure I had fun in writing the character dialogues, but the surprising part that I was trying to execute was when I literally flip the script of the characters. Mainly Tsumugi, Miu, and Ryoma, I think.

I was supposed to post this yesterday, but the internet is really bad in the Philippines that it always lose my Author's Note.

This chapter reveals some of the aspects of the Team Danganronpa company and its community, so I hope you got informed.

I have to admit, Tsumugi is the one that I hesitate in giving her a spotlight. Because she's supposed to be my favorite character in V3 until it was announced that she was the mastermind, that's where I got the grudge from her a little bit considering she killed both Rantaro and Kaede in the game.

So many twists were given in one chapter to, such as the Death Road of Despair and the 'outside world'. I do add some...touches in the outside world to surprise you all that this is no ordinary time travel fanfiction.

Anyways, I really REALLY apologize from the month-long hiatus. Seriously, I don't like it because of the Writer's Block. I may be busy in school, but that doesn't mean I'm abandoning it like the others. I tried my best to get my roll back, even playing many games just to get inspiration. Mario Kart 8, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, Super Mario Odyssey, and Sonic Forces; I played them all! And I like all of them, they're really good.

Also, Purgatory_Empress. If you can see this message, I want to say thank you for the comment at AO3. It almost made me cry and it helped me in getting my writing roll back. Thank you, thank you, so much.

I want to say thank you to the beta readers also that I mentioned from the very top of the announcements, they really helped in giving me suggestions on which words need to change.

We reached so many views, guys. Let's give ourselves a round of applause. 3 thousand views and counting!

I guess that's what I have to say for now, I'm just glad I finished this torture of a chapter and finally make the next chapter.

I'm not 'dead', fellow viewers! And see you in the next chapter!


	8. Prologue - ULTIMATE REVIVAL

_"Here we are, the two of us, like ships upon a winding river._

 _And yet somehow, we found each other like strangers._

 _You and I."_

 _\- Shannyn Sossamon and Elijah Wood (Like Ships)_

* * *

 **Warning:**

 **This story contains the plot of Danganronpa V3. It is recommended to get information about the Danganronpa series first to understand this story.  
**

 **This chapter will contain sensitive topics such as mentions of anxiety (panic attacks), post-traumatic stress disorder, vomiting, depression, and suicide. Therefore, you will be given a** Trigger Warning **from the mentioned. I** **t is advisable to link out or ask the author for inquiries. You may read the author's notes for extra information on the story's chapter. However, the author will try her best to keep the story in Rated T.  
**

 **Reading discretion is advised.**

 **Appearances/Mentions of Team Danganronpa (As of Chapter 7):**

 **Izuru Kamakura - Founder**

 **Makoto Naegi - Director**

 **Hajime Hinata - Second Unit Director**

 **Juzo Sakakura - Head Security**

 **Kyosuke Munakata - Actor**

 **Chisa Yukizome - Actress**

 **Kazuichi Soda - Construction Team Head**

 **Kiyotaka Ishimaru - Security**

 **Mondo Owada - Security**

 **Mahiru Koizumi - Camera**

 **Ryota Mitarai - Editor (Retired)**

 **Ryoko Otonashi / Junko Enoshima - Head Editor**

 **Chihiro Fujisaki - System Administrator**

 **Mikan Tsumiki - Medical Team Head**

 **Yasuhiro Hagakura - Media Agent**

 **Seiko Kimura - Medical Head (Stepped Down)**

 **Chiaki Nanami - Technical Director**

 **Miaya Gekkogahara - Tech Team**

 **Yasuke Matsuda - Medical Team**

 **Kazuo Tengan - Actor / Director (Retired)**

 **Toko Fukawa - Scriptwriter**

-Thoughts-

 **Ki-Bo's thoughts**

 _Kaede's thoughts_

 _~Angie's thoughts~_

* * *

 ** _At some time ago..._**

* * *

P. 80

 **JUNKO *MONOKUMA*  
**

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? YOU'RE THE ONES WHO KILLED THEM!

FAST CHANGE TO TEACHER

 **JUNKO *TEACHER***

I DIDN'T KILL ANYONE. I SIMPLY GAVE YOU A LITTLE NUDGE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

FAST CHANGE TO MUSHROOM

 **JUNKO *MUSHROOM***

AND THAT'S ALL IT TOOK FOR YOU TO START KILLING EACH OTHER. YOU'RE NOTHING BUT BLOODTHIRSTY ANIMALS...

FAST CHANGE TO QUEEN

 **JUNKO *QUEEN***

THAT'S WHY ANYONE IS MURDERED HERE, PEASANT!

FAST CHANGE TO CHILD

 **JUNKO *CHILD***

SAY WHAT YOU WANT ABOUT HOPE, BUT WE'RE ALL CREATURES OF INSTINCT, RIGHT? DESPAIR COMES NATURALLY!

FAST CHANGE TO REBEL

 **JUNKO *REBEL***

OH YES! THAT'S FUNNY AS HELL!

MAKOTO IS MORE ANGRY AT JUNKO'S PERCEPTION OF HUMANITY (NOTE: MAKOTO MUST RAISE HIS VOICE AT JUNKO IN THE LAST LINE. OTHERWISE THE SHOOT WON'T FINISH BECAUSE OF HIM)

 **MAKOTO**

NO...! THIS ISN'T JUST SOME GAME TO US!

IT'S MURDER, PLAIN AND SIMPLE!

YOU STOLE OUR MEMORIES, INVENTED REASONS FOR US TO DO IT... YOU PUSHED US ALL INTO A CORNER...!

 _IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!_

* * *

 _"Whoa... Ryoko got so many lines here. I wonder how would she able to memorize those in one take?" Makoto read the eightieth page of the script as his whispers echoed inside the men's restroom._

 _It's almost the episode finale of_ Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, _and Makoto is in deep nervousness from the shoot. The staff of the show pressured him a lot since this is the time where he'll get the entire spotlight as the representative of Hope against the representative of Despair._

 _So far, the way he acts is plain average. He's not bad, but not good enough either. Even the_ Danganronpa _fanbase complained about how mediocre Makoto is, whether he's in character or not. Sure, there are some fans like him for being a cute 'bishonen' character. However, the ones who want him dead in the show were the people he wanted to avoid._

Especially the -

 _"NO! Nononono! Don't think about that, Makoto!" The actor smacked his face with the thick script he carried, "Just...breathe...and start memorizing your lines...Yeah...that's what I'll do. Must distract me from stress, yep."_

 _Right after he read his lines, Makoto took a deep breath and began his memorization._

 _"No...! This isn't just some game to us!"_

 _That's a good start._

 _"It's murder, plain and simple!"_

 _He took notes that he should raise_

 _his voice a bit higher on that line though._

 _"You stole our memories, invented reasons for us to do it...You pushed us all into a corner!"_

 _Now for the big part._

 _"IT'S ALL YOU FaaaAA-uuUuUUUuult?!"_

 _Uh oh, it looks like he cracked his voice there._

 _"Gosh darn it!" The teenager stomped his feet in frustration. But what happened though? He didn't drink anything cold ever since the show started, he never stay up late since it might affect his energy and voice, he always drinks some water and medicine to make sure his voice is alright, he even took voice exercises right before going to the restroom. So what made his voice cracked all of a sudden?_

 _Might as well, doing it again._

 _"No! This isn't just some game to us! It's murder, plain and...uuuguuuuahaahhahhh!"_

 _And again._

 _"...You stole our memories...invented reasons for us to do it...you pu-bubububu-bah!"_

 _And again._

 _"...WHAT'S MY LINE?! DARN IT!"_

 _And again._

 _"IT'S ALL YOUR - - - FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGUUUUUUHHHHH!"_

 _It was until Makoto slammed his head on to the mirror, he's glad he didn't break it though._

 _He sighed in frustration for not able to perform his lines right. There are only four lines in one page! FOUR! That's not even hard to memorize them at all! So why can't he get his lines right?_

 _The amateur doesn't know. He's mad that he can't get them right. Just because he's the main protagonist of_ Trigger Happy Havoc _, doesn't mean he's completely the perfect actor that everyone expected from him._

 _He feels like he's going to let the Team down because he can't get them memorized again. That he will fail the episode finale, and everyone will get mad at him for being an idiot._

What if I don't make it?

What if I screw up?

What would happen to me?

Are they going to yell at me?

Are they going to fire me because I screwed up?

They must be angry right from the start. Maybe they don't like me and only dragged me here because I was a pity walker.

What were they thinking of choosing me?!

I'll ruin the show! I'll fail the Team. I'll fail my 'friends'. I'll fail Ryoko!

It's all my fault!

 **It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault!**

Maybe I shouldn't exist? Then I won't screw up anymore. I can make them happy if I'm gone, right?

Yeah...

Maybe I should -

 _"NO!" Makoto yelled while covering his ears, his face is visibly dripping with sweat without noticing it._

 _"Nononononono! Reject! Reject! I don't want to think about it! Not again!" His lone echoes were ringing inside the restroom. The young man is breathing heavily as he tried to make himself relax, his eyes laid on where the script was fallen. He could see that he's still stuck on page 80, the part where he couldn't get his lines right._

 _For a long second, he stared at the bundle of paper, a drop of water has stained the script. Then soon, those drops of water increases as the page is soaking slowly._

 _The actor didn't notice he was crying._

 _That_ it _is attacking his brain again._

 _It's because he didn't take the proper medication...again._

 _Makoto's breath subsided as he looked at his tired reflection in the mirror. Oh god, he's so ugly. So ugly that he wanted to tear that fleshy mask that's covering his face down because he doesn't want to see the frail and disgusting figure staring at him in pity.  
_

 _As much as the boy tempted to shatter the mirror with his fists, he knew that it would lead to a bad consequence._

 _Therefore, Makoto could only do the safest._

 _Shout._

 ** _"UGH! SON OF A - "_**

 _"OI!"_

 _Makoto jumped in surprise and searched where the noise came from._

 _He didn't expect who the person was inside of the men's restroom, especially if someone entered the room where most men do their Nature's Call broke a rule._

 _Not entering the restroom unless you're a guy._

 _Appearing before him is a young strawberry blonde-haired woman wearing a black blazer, a two-color themed black and white necktie, a red checkered skirt, and black heeled boots._

 _Good thing Makoto isn't blushing because of the attire she's wearing, it's because he knows who she is._

 _"J-J-Jun-, I-I-I m-mean, R-Ryo-k-ko!_ _What the h-heck a-are you doing h-here?! In the MEN'S RESTROOM?!_ _" Makoto stuttered in getting her name and his words right, even he couldn't prevent himself from blushing all because a woman entered the men's restroom._

 _Jun-,_

 _er,_

 _Ryoko tapped her feet impatiently, she doesn't look pleased with how Makoto greet her. The question was given to the actress even sounds insulting, it's the usual 'just because she's a woman' excuse so the men can do something that they want as opposed to the girls who had to powder their noses within a time limit. Lucky them._

 _Disgruntled, the celebrity's only response is pointing her thumb to the opened restroom door, "You forgot to lock the door. AGAIN. The whole Team was wondering if there's a ghost inside the restroom! Hiro was scared like heck!"_

 _Makoto gave her a sheepish grin, even though the grin is a fake, he never thought that he'd scare his fellow workers over the script he's trying to_ _memorize. "Ehehe...Sorry about that," he apologized while averting his eyes. Still can't believe that Ryoko was able to enter the restroom without hesitation or shame, even having the guts to break a rule._

 _Well, that's Ryoko. A risk-taker and a rule-breaker, but with a heart of gold along with it.  
_

 _The actress blankly shrugged at Makoto's reaction until she saw the disheveled script laying on the tiles, Ryoko reached for it and carefully inspect the lines from a page that she randomly flipped._

 _"What are you doing here anyway?" she asked._

 _"I was trying to get the lines right - "_

 _"Next time, find a better place for you to practice. You can't just concentrate when you're inside the restroom while smelling pee and poop during your delivery, and not to mention that it'll ruin your suit if you keep on sweating for too long here," she lectured Makoto while reading the lines that Makoto practiced, then her brow raised._

 _Her eyes moved as she skims the page, "'This isn't some game to us', yadda yadda yadda...'invented reasons for us to do it' blah blah blah..."_

 _She then had her sharp eyes towards Makoto, "You only got four lines on one page..."_

 _This became the time Makoto's smile fades, he even averts his eyes to his friend in shame._

 _"And you still couldn't ace it? Why?"_

 _The tone of her voice sounds like she's a veteran who is ticked at a rookie, not able to do things right on the first day. HE knew Ryoko's not happy for flopping his lines during his practice, and she also had a point._

 _"I..."_

 _There are only four of his lines on one page._

 _Ryoko sighed, "You were supposed to memorize them right before the set,"_

 _"I...I - I...Uh..."_

 _Why can't he get them right?_

 _"What are you do - "_

 _"I'm s-sor-rry..." His breathing shortens once again._

 _Why can't he get them right?_

 _Why is he letting his friend down from the final episode of the show?_

 _"I don't know what I was doing and I...Ngh..."_

 _His hands were shaking, his own body feels like it's overheating._

 _And his eyes are beginning to blur for who knows how many times, he couldn't see the blurred figure of Ryoko standing right in front of him as if she's only a mirage.  
_

 _"I can't do it. I...I - I can't...I'm gonna fail!" Makoto shrieked, his own hands unconsciously start to claw his hair brutally._

 _Of all the times that he had been attacked by_ it, _he's wondering why the attack had to be on the day of the show's finale._

 _He hates being attacked by_ it.

 _He feels weak, cornered, vulnerable..._

 _And alone._

 _Makoto thought that if he can handle this by himself with no one to help him, then he can end finally end_ it _._

 _He doesn't want to be a burden of others, and he doesn't want to hurt their feelings if_ it' _s attacking him at the wrong place at the wrong time.  
_

 _But no matter how many medications he'd taken, no matter how many times he must be rehabilitated, it's still useless._

 _Makoto can only subdue_ it _for a while until_ it _has broken the chains that he restrained to the MONSTROUS CREATURE WHO INVADED HIS MIND FOR MANY YEARS.  
_

No no no!

Not now!

Please just leave me alone!

Stop ruining my life already!

You already hurt me enough, I don't want to do it anymore!

Someone! Anyone!

Just help me!

I can't do it!

I'm gonna fail again!

No! I have to resist this!

I don't want to be a burden!

I don't want to -

 ** _"MAKOTO!"_**

 _"Huh?!" The protagonist character snapped out of his trance and hastily look around of what's happening during his...attack. He realized that his knees were on the floor, and he could see some tiny water drops too. He also learned his fellow actress is still present the whole time that he did not realize Ryoko was restraining, or probably hugging, him.  
_

 _"It's okay! It's okay, Makoto. I got you...I got you..." The young woman's voice suddenly changed, from strict to soft-spoken._

 _Her voice helped in calming him, his breathing is slowly faltered. His hands weren't shaking anymore and his body feels light like feathers scattered in the breeze._

 _When he was able to feel the sensation of relief, he looked at Ryoko despite his red eyes were stinging him from crying._

 _"Ryoko? What...happened...to me?" Makoto asked with his voice fully cracked and his throat becomes a little painful to swallow in. Now he wants to know what on earth happened to him._

 _His friend paused for seconds before she took a deep breath and opened her mouth, "You had another Panic Attack. It's the fifth one this week."_

 _"The fifth time..." As much as he doesn't like the word, the young man accepted like it was nothing. He pushed himself from the floor as he tried to stand up despite his legs are shaking, he even brushed off Ryoko's help when she wanted to offer some assistance._

 _The mere gesture gives the antagonist actress some concern to her 'enemy' character. From the tension inside the bathroom to his worst-case scenario of the Panic Attack, Makoto seemed didn't care about those that he's becoming distant from it._

 _Ryoko knows Makoto, even though he doesn't know of Ryoko's existing analytical abilities can be crucial in and off character. Of course, if she's going to ask Makoto if he's alright, he's gonna say it even though he's lying. There's something wrong with him, and she might be right._

 _She looked at him with glaring eyes, one that makes a person back away from fear._

 _"Makoto."_

 _It worked like a charm, Makoto is frozen from Ryoko's harsh gaze._

 _Ryoko must have hated him. Makoto starts to blame everything that spots inside his head. But, he doesn't want to start the monster rule his head again._

 _...please don't._

 _"...You..." He wants to say sorry. But sorry is not an easy word. Sorry? Even a criminal won't be able to spit it out. Only soap operas do that, but the real world is another thing._

 _She had enough. For goodness sakes, she's the Ultimate Analyst! So she gotta do something with her talent, even though the solution is going to be outright silly. Ryoko reaches out her hand towards Makoto's forehead, her fingers are ready for flicking someone. Her fingers worked like a slingshot as her painted nail hit Makoto's skin in a snap._

Tick!

 _The elastic sound made Makoto got a hold on his forehead._

 _Makoto's pain receptors gave him a signal to flinch, "YEOWCH! WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR?!"_

 _Not sure what to react, he stared at Ryoko with an annoyed look._

 _"Don't hit me like that!"_

 _But instead of seeing Ryoko's ticked off face, he gazed upon a different woman._

 _Ryoko is still the same, apart from the crown and different posture, almost like a tyrant queen._

 _"You DARE to question my authorities as a Queen of Despair? How impertinent! The absurdity from the Prince of Hope succumbing to the very concept of Despair in place of the philosophy that you are committed from! This war of Hope against Despair will resolve nothing but utter boredom. Therefore, the battle must halt!"_

 _Makoto stared at Ryoko dumbfounded. Is she saying that the shoot will have to wait or she's trying to get her act together as Junko Enoshima just for him to understand how to act a character?_

 _"Uuuhhh...Ryoko? What are you trying to do?"_

 _The actress snatched the script from Makoto's hands suddenly as she rolled it narrow enough to be a stick. He didn't expect for Ryoko, or maybe she's playing as Junko, to swing it in front of the actor. He dodged at whatever Ryoko, er, Junko's hitting at him. He doesn't want to get hurt by the Ultimate Despair after all!_

 _"Hey hey! That's enough! I had enough! Don't hit me again!" Makoto put his hand to protect himself, "Knock it off!"_

 _But her 'character' didn't listen to him, nor caring that her long tongue flapping from her mouth with saliva flying around. "Who cares?! What's the point of stopping with that long face!"_

 _"That's gross! Don't spit out saliva at me! What do you want to happen then just to get you to stop?!"_

 _She stopped attacking Makoto, her arm that holds the rolled-up script is slowly becoming limp. The persona fell silent, mushrooms popped out from her hair. The reasons were unknown, but her face shows remorse with either true of fake tears starting to form._

 _"Geez...I was just trying to cheer you up. Is this how you thank me as your friend? That's Despairing, you know that? And I'm not talking the good Despair, too."_

 _"...Trying to cheer me up...?" He wants to continue, but his brain is tired to let it overwork. Air is put around them, making the atmosphere awkward that led him to blush in embarrassment._

 _She smiled, her blue contacts gazed at his timid stature. "Of course I was trying to cheer you up, Silly Egg!" The cutesy girl squeaked from her high pitched voice._

 _She ran up to her friend and grabbed his tender hands, "You're always sad whenever we meet, and it makes Big Sis Ryoko sad too! We don't like sad Makoto! We want the happy Makoto back!"_

 _Here comes another 'not sure what to react' situation. But, pretending to go with the flow...wouldn't hurt, right?_

 _"Well...so...okay, 'Big Sis' ...I can't say no but...okay. I'll be fine," Makoto smiled a small one, although it's not that Ryoko is expecting, at least, it is not fake. It is better than flashing a grin yet filled with hypocrisy._

 _However, Ryoko's analytic abilities can see through Makoto's lies. She pulled out her eyeglasses along with her pen and a clipboard, which the later is filled with Makoto's...'necessary' documents compiled._

 _"I can see you're faking it, Makoto. Remember that I am taking the role not only as the Ultimate Despair nor the Ultimate Fashionista, but also the role of the Ultimate Analyst."_

 _Makoto can't help but smack his face. "Later on, I'm gonna start to call you as Mother..."_

 _As he looks on her eyes, "...Ryoko," and as he calls her name, he takes the rolled script from her and sighed a deep one. "...you're hopeless."_

 _And it seems, his face becomes clear and bright while appreciating Ryoko's concern about him._

 _Her only response is only sending a punch towards his stomach._

 _Makoto knelt down from the pain. That hit hard! He thought as he points the rolled script to her. "T-That hurts! You score too much lately!" He stands up, "I just can't punch people, but I'll take revenge! Oh, yeah. You'll see it later in the show! You'll see!"_

 _Pulling out her Monokuma plush and covering her face, "Puhuhuhuhu! See? If I simply give you a nudge in the right direction, it'll be a-okay! Finally, the Ultimate Hope breaks free from Despair...By golly, what took you so long though?"_

 _Her Junko alter-ego shuts down, and Ryoko let the plush down and showing her face of concern._

 _"But seriously, Makoto. You can't just deal with this on your own." Ryoko reached out her hand to a subdued Makoto._

 _"Didn't you forget that you have friends?"_

 _Makoto silenced for a bit. However, he can't respond to anything. He has not refuted it. Friends? He is not sure. The thing they are always there for you doesn't work for him. "I know..." The last thing he can say._

 _She didn't let go of her outstretched arm, "I know you've gone through bad things already. And there are times you need to have the will to keep moving forward, you can't stay silent about how you feel. You need to speak up, not just me."_

 _"If it's just that easy, why not?" Makoto said in a low tone._

 _"It's because you're not doing it. 'Easier being said than done', that's your mentality." Her analytic tone becomes serious all of a sudden._

 _Uh oh, her voice suddenly changes again. But on the other hand, she's technically right. Sure he has friends in_ Trigger Happy Havoc _, yet it seems that he's mostly with Ryoko all the time. Makoto feels like he's slowly becoming a burden, and the protagonist is well aware that he's clinging to Ryoko too much._

 _It's because she's one of the only persons he could speak out of, especially..._

 _Perhaps it's not the right time to think about it, not in the episode finale. He must make Ryoko happy, she doesn't want to see him battling the dormant monster inside him alone._

 _Makoto sighed, "Okay, fine. Next time, I'll try. But please don't do that again? Besides...I need to memorize this thing now."_

 _She doesn't want him to get irritated any longer, and he has a point that it's almost the rehearsal and then the shoot afterward._

 _Ryoko instead grabs Makoto's arm and gently pull him back to his knees, he does appreciate the help even though he wasn't showing gratitude._

 _"Now remember, Makoto," The dressed up actress calls out the young actor for one last time even though he knows what she was trying to say._

 _"Eat, sleep, relax, and do my homework. I know."_

 _She smiled, "Good. Now, let's go. Old Man Tengan might have another heart attack once he sees us missing on the set again."_

 _Makoto nodded, and the two left the restroom while having to get some surprises from Team Danganronpa about the antagonist having the guts of entering the men's restroom._

 _The actress playing as Junko Enoshima is back to her normal, outgoing self when talking to people._

 _The lead character, on the other hand, is seen sitting on the corner of the set. He's memorizing his lines for the hundredth time while showing his focus on expressing his emotions through it._

 _As much as she's proud that Makoto can recover from what happened to the restroom, she couldn't help but feel worrisome. Just because he's back to his work, doesn't mean_ it _is gone._

 _For now, at least._

 _"Makoto, please. Just speak up about this. A lot of people were reaching their hands to you, just accept their help before it's too late."_

* * *

 ** _Present time_**

* * *

"YOU'RE GONNA DO WHAT?!" Mikan shrieked so loud that I winced upon hearing her high pitched voice, looks like her _Goodbye Despair_ self is still hidden beneath in terms of her natural reactions _(like everyone else does in Team Danganronpa)_.

I placed a finger over my lip, "SSSHHHH! You're going to wake him up if you screech even louder!"

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I'm back in the basement. You know, the place where we had to keep Makoto away to get some shut-eye from chapter 7?

Just to some up from the last chapter _(in bullet form)_ :

1\. Makoto was still out cold from the 'caffeine overdose'

2\. The only place good for him to sleep is in the basement

3\. Hajime challenged us for a race

4\. I won and Hajime lost in the MOST PAINFUL WAY AS POSSIBLE

5\. The Death Road of Despair got shut down

6\. Hajime made me edit the whole script

So, yeah. Technically, the reason why I was back was that I have to check on Makoto...just in case he does something fishy and would cause a tantrum if he finds out the script was edited by yours truly.

"But are you serious about this? Hajime really told you about that?!" My fellow worker still couldn't believe it, especially on Hajime's free will.

I could only shrug, "Either he doesn't want to see the kids die by a mere thirty-five hundred volt electrocution or he's too lazy to deal with it."

Mikan fidgets with her fingers, she's clearly not okay with it _(geez, she's usually outspoken before Goodbye Despair)_. I guess that makes sense since she's still a bit sensitive to people throwing a tantrum, again it came from the show she acted before. Not only that, Hajime's life is on the line and she doesn't like that either.

"Hajime's gonna get murdered by this! Nggghhhh! I told him Makoto's still the boss! I told him not to mess with the boss!"

"Calm down, Mikan! Mikan!" I put my hands over her shoulders by the time I saw her shaking.

Immediately, she's starting to do her breathing exercise. A common way to relax a panicking person at a time of crisis, and I wish Makoto practiced that too...

"That's it...Good! Just continue to breathe in and out." I guided her while doing the same thing _(since I'm also panicking on the inside)_.

I'll tell you a short story.

Right after Hajime told me to edit the script, Chihiro and I had to _(silently)_ announce the other people from Team Danganronpa about the change of plans. Not only for them to have time to change the whole set and other kinds of stuff, but for them to mentally brace themselves if ever Makoto wakes up and throws a fuse. AGAIN.

The Team understands what to do and start to revise their work. Whether if it's the set design or the playback, they had to fix this little troubleshooting. Or they will get the end of Makoto's stick on them the hard way.

I know Makoto's not the person who gets super angry _(sorta)_ , especially from the past shows that he's portraying as the First Ultimate Hope in the previous saga. But nowadays, especially he's taking place as the Director of _Killing Harmony_ , let's just say he's not mentally prepared when it comes to dealing with stress. Even though his emotions are improving, a crisis may get into him that Hajime and I had to keep an eye on him. It's a hassle job, I know. But that's a job as his friend, too.

Once Mikan regains her composure, she's starting to pack her things from her first aid kit.

"Thank you, Ryoko. Especially when helping Hajime on his job, I'm sorry if he's a bit of a troublemaker though..." She said while averting her eye contact with me, I understand what she means. Those two can be a handful at times, I sometimes can't believe I'm babysitting them.

"Hajime? Pfft! He's fine, even though he can be a troll. But at least he's taking his job more seriously, I think." I muttered under my breath.

The Ex-Ultimate Nurse checked on Makoto one more time, seeing if one of the basement room is capable for him to sleep for a longer hour while Mikan taking her leave. Don't worry, I'm taking her shift afterward.

Mikan hands me a paper filled with instructions on how to take care of a sick person in bed, "Just make sure to make him drink water, but don't OVERDO IT. And then we have to monitor his eating and sleeping habits once he wakes up, we better make him eat nutritious foods and not just coffee. Otherwise, he'll suffer hyper-acidity over and over."

I nodded in agreement, and both of us left the basement with optimism that Makoto will sleep well.

Hopefully...

By the time we took our first step in leaving the basement room, we see people doing -

"HEADS UP!"

Alarmed by whoever warned us, I pushed Mikan's head down when I saw a big piece of metal swinging towards us. It was a close call _(not unlike Rantaro-Avocado from the past time loops)_.

I wanted to know who almost killed us. My eyes were able to catch the sight of the Ex-Ultimate Mechanic, Kazuichi Soda _(friendly reminder he's not that close to Sonia, in and out of character)_.

Mikan gave him a pout, "K-Kazuichi! Be careful!"

"Yeah! You're going to kill someone with that pipe!" I followed _(isn't this statement a little bit ironic or hypocritical?)_

He placed the pipe down slowly _(with ONE HAND, mind you)_ , "Whoops! Sorry about that, ladies! Didn't see where I was going."

"Hah! How are you anyway? It's been a while since we didn't see each other," I asked him while helping Mikan in standing up.

He placed a hand on his hip while his brows furrowed, "The last time we've met, the whole Team had to watch 'The Battle of the Jerks' until Mr. Kamukura dismissed us."

"Caffeine, it makes them crazy when it comes to those two," I commented while peering over his shoulder, more people from the Construction Team are coming in.

Apparently, Mikan and I should be the ones to know where we going. Because the lobby is becoming a moving site, this happens a lot when the Construction Team is doing an Ingress.

Speaking of Ingress, that gave Mikan curiosity.

"What are you doing though? I-I-If you don't mind asking,"

"Hajime's orders, dude. First, we have to do some big changes in the set pieces of the show...and then I have to fix the Death Road of Despair...again," Kazuichi answered, with the last part being a soft mutter. This is one of the many times that the Soda Can have to fix the tunnel. Most of the reasons were the Electro-Hammers wrecking the traps, much to Kazuichi's dismay that Makoto ordered him for who knows how many times.

The struggles in managing priorities want me to make a joke out of that punk, "Hey, you don't think it might conflict with your dating with... Sonia?"

Kazuichi's eyes widened while his face turned red, "WHAT THE HECK?! YOU WANT ME TO SWING THIS PIPE OVER YOU?!"

Aaahh! Music to my ears. Despite being the character playing as the Ultimate Mechanic in _Goodbye Despair_ who is gushing over Sonia, he's technically not the type of person to have dates or so. Well, the Crowned Princess Sonia Nevermind of the Novoselic Kingdom _(my goodness that's long)_ is now doing her royal duties as a princess when she was formerly the Location Manager _(and one of the major sponsors)_. So she's not around right now, but she did promise to visit the place where she met many friends behind the scenes. In short, she's retired.

It's a natural love team triangle when fans are rooting to either Gundam Tanaka _(the Ex-Ultimate Breeder who is now part of the Publicist Crew)_ or Kazuichi, though he later had to step out of the triangle since he has more priorities to take care on for the shows.

Seeing Kazuichi being his normal, dorky self-makes Mikan spark a squeaky laugh in a good way. He does accept what the Med Team Head was saying to him, that's normal for us nowadays when reminiscing our jobs as actors before.

We could only smile, Kazuichi smiled also. There's nothing we could do primarily, it's all in the days work. The members of Team Danganronpa do get used on the lifestyle when working on the killing game reality show, but the adjustments can be surprising that we sometimes lose track of the days and stuffs we're supposed to do.

"Oh well...Another loop, another set needs to be fixed," I shrug in making my point.

Mikan raised her hand, "Kazuichi, please be mindful of working with the set. Especially when you do your welding since it might affect your eyes without the proper equipment to protect them."

His shoulders broaden, "Awww shucks! Don't worry about me! If I can fix a chassis, I can fix my bones in a jiffy!"

"Ummm...that's not a good idea. But I could provide some assistance at the hospital if you did break a bone, you have to be careful still."

"Oh well, thanks anyway." Kazuichi began to lift the pipe like it was made of helium, "I better go back to work now. An Ultimate - "

 **"EX-ULTIMATE"** Mikan and I reminded Kazuichi in unison _(at least someone had fun portraying their character)_.

" **Ex-Ultimate** Mechanic's job is never done!" The Soda Can forget to be aware that he might hit us again, so we had to duck once more to stay away from the pipe's range.

And then Kazuichi left, while his free hand wave to us as we wave back.

So after that short but sweet friendly conversation, it's time for us to get working again.

* * *

Staring at the bright laptop screen is Chihiro Fujisaki, Team Danganronpa's System Administrator. His fingers tapped on his keyboard as various codes are sprawled over the document, yet he never blinks or averts his eyes off of it _(it kinda makes me worried about how his programming affects his eyes without a filter)_.

Meanwhile, Hajime is substituting Makoto's job. He's watching on a television screen where the _V3_ kids _(except Ki-Bo)_ are gathered, the situation is obviously bad from Chapter 7. From the looks on his face, he seems stressed on...whatever he's thinking right now. To be honest, Hajime's not used in doing Makoto's job. As in, he's new in the head director's routine while Makoto is temporarily absent.

You see, Hajime's job description reads 'Second Unit Director'. So it means that there's such thing as the First Unit Director, which is Makoto.

Curious?

While Team Danganronpa is filled with different Teams depending on their specialty, there's a team within the Team but we call them as 'Units'. There are many Units within the Team but it was narrowed down in the recent seasons, like season 53.

The First Unit is Makoto's unit; the guidelines stated that whoever is cast in the season, they will be working on that particular unit while having their specific jobs within the company. So if Makoto's unit were from _Trigger Happy Havoc_ , the others will join his unit _(under the 'unified agreement')_. I'm part of his Unit despite being a cast member from _Zero_ , so does Chihiro, Toko, Kiyotaka, Mondo, and Yasuhiro. His unit is in charge of the security, casts, creatives, and the plot.

Next, is Hajime's Second Unit. People from _Danganronpa 2_ will be part of his Unit, like Kazuichi, Mikan, Mahiru, Sonia, Gundham, and Chiaki. The unit that Hajime's in charge of other sources, like the technical and other support. Almost half of them had more 'elbow grease' than Makoto's unit, much to the Second Unit Director's dismay _(because those two Breakfast Brothers clash each other often)_.

The part where you read Hajime and Makoto fighting in Chapter 5 is one of their fights. Yes, I did stop them from making the feud worsen but there are parts of the past where it gets bloody with these two, as in really bloody. Old Man Kamukura requested me to keep an eye on those two kids from fighting each other, and that's why I got the babysitting job because of it.

With that out of the way, it's no wonder that Hajime is having a hard time sitting in one place because his body is so used in moving around the building that it doesn't want to even sit down.

Hajime is close to being frustrated by trying to get a comfortable position while watching our contestants from the screen. Just as before the Orange Juice rage quits, he heard the sigh that came from our System Administrator. The sight of Chihiro struggling not only to distract Hajime from what he was supposed to do but his concern from the kid overworking blooms his soft spot.

"DANG IT."

Chihiro's arms lay limp as he hung his head up from exhaustion, his eyes were closed. This is his non-verbal action of 'why am I in this job anyway?', and you better believe it. If you ever experienced writing a College Thesis _(especially the dreaded Review of Related Literature)_ , then you know how the boy feels when typing codes in one sitting. Sure, the Chihiro Fujisaki you knew before wouldn't hurt a fly. But if he pushed himself too hard, he might not only get a bad headache _(whoops, too soon?)_ but he's also close to show his angry side and let his frustrations out. He does have complaints, but he never tells them because he might hurt other's feelings for it.

"Chihiro?" Hajime's voice opened the young boy's eyes in alarm for his superior.

"Oh! Sorry. My hands were a little bit tired." Chihiro answered softly as he doesn't want to exert his energy much. Instead, he turned his head to look at Hajime.

"You don't have to pressure yourself. They won't appear until the second chapter anyway."

"I'm still stuck in Kiyo's part! He's the hardest character to even re-write his plotline code after Tsumugi trashed them, second to Kirumi and even Ki-Bo!" Chihiro lightly pounds his fists on the desk, "My GOODNESS, I can't believe she placed me under this assignment when she died! **'They're just fictional!'** she said! **'It'll be fun!'** she said! UGH! I wish I could put her in the box and disassemble her to death! Then we'll see if she's still having fun in there!"

Oh, the irony if you ever read between the lines because Chihiro's rage is about to fuse.

And yeah, our former Executive Producer coerced Chihiro to be the one to program the Flashback Light along with inserting the plot lines that Tsumugi _(and Makoto_ ) wrote for the characters. And just like the others, we hate Tsumugi. She's the one who almost ruined Danganronpa if she wasn't a tyrant to us before.

Mentioning her name wants me to spit on her tombstone.

Anyway, seeing Chihiro cranky makes Hajime had to release a chuckle. Looks like he had to bring chocolate milk for Chihiro so he can at least have some comfort food during his programming.

Peering from Chihiro's laptop, a short cord is plugged seemingly that connects to a device.

The gadget has a cylinder-shaped rod that is connected to a large, telescopic lens with blue linings on the rim. The lens is transparent enough to see that there is an energy core inside that is protected in the container itself. There is a separate handle with a switch that is wrapped with wiring and a canister powering the equipment.

Everyone knows what it is.

It's the Flashback Light.

Our System Administrator could see Hajime's eyes staring at it, "It's also the last one before Kazuichi and Chiaki had to restock it again."

"Well, at least Angie didn't wreck it from the last time loop."

"But she's still dead in Loop 18!"

Orange Juice sighed in dismay _(he likes Angie before Tsumugi messed her up)_ , "She deserved to die after killing Shuichi like that. What a jerk!"

Still drained, Chihiro covered his hands over his eyes. It's the perfect go signal for Hajime to grab a drink for Chihiro, patting the boy's head as he walked towards the kitchen.

* * *

"Goodness gracious! She did that?!"

"Yes, she did! I can't believe it either. I almost jumped out of my chair, to be honest."

"I have to admit, that sounds cool when you think about it. So what happens next?"

"Let's see..." Mikan tapped her head a little with her finger "She was able to keep the enemies distracted... almost, but the lady got snatched anyway and was trapped in a wheel guillotine thingy."

I rolled my eyes as a result, "And I'm guessing she's -"

"Dead." Mikan finished the summary with a gruesome ending while making an 'Off with your head' gesture. It made me facepalm out of impulse.

"Oh man, and just when I started to like her. She went DEAD." I spoke out of disappointment "A character I liked pre-show went DEAD. And the next episode, he went DEAD. And again, and again, and again. No wonder the posts warned people not to get attached to them. WHY DIDN'T I LISTEEEEEEEEN~?!"

She patted my shoulder when I'm beginning to sulk. "Don't worry, Ryoko. There's still more people left. I think they'll make it to the finale."

"IF they can."

Though Mikan's knowledge about the story she told me made me curious, how come she knows about all this? That series conflicted our shift.

Therefore I asked, "Out of curiosity, when did you have the time to watch the show? I'm very outdated as of this moment."

My question to Mikan makes her a bit embarrassed about what she is going to say, "I asked Fuyuhiko about that..."

"Oh," I nodded "Him."

We were almost to the control room where Hajime and Chihiro stayed so they can keep an eye on the kids and do some last-minute adjustments before Chapter 1 starts for the thirty-first time in the show.

We talked a lot of things during our walk, mostly were about life outside of our work.

"By the way. When is the next Medical Mission, maybe the Team could volunteer to help?" I asked Mikan out of curiosity.

She looked at me with a smile crawling on her lips, and I mean the kind one. "So far, there aren't any announcements yet from my organization. But there's going to be a conference next week and I have to watch the seminars there, too."

I nod, "Have you asked permission or getting a leave?"

That's when she gets a long pause to think, her medical kit breaks the silence when it makes some noise in the background. "I...was thinking about that. Except there is a problem...While I'm going to be gone for a day or two, who's going to watch Makoto? And...OH MY GOSH! Who's going to watch the children?! What will they eat? Did they have enough clothes? How will I know they're gonna sleep on time? Why am I so stupid? I forgot to hire a babysitter!"

"Wait, didn't Nagito volunteered?"

"...Oops! I forgot. Yeah, silly me." Mikan sighed in relief, the stress makes her forgetful sometimes.

"Just relax and enjoy the conference! It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, you know. Don't forget, I have a shift for Makoto, so you shouldn't worry about that too." I wrapped my arm around her shoulder to help her relax.

Mikan blushed, "Th-Thank you, Ryoko."

"That's Team Danganronpa for you. We're family, Mikan. We care for each other." I smiled.

* * *

After that, we were able to enter the dark control room. It's still 'half-empty' since Makoto's absent. Though, I could see Chihiro resting because he got an assignment in re-writing the data of the Flashback Light by the time I edited the script _(gosh darn you, Tsumugi)_.

As for Hajime, I couldn't see him anywhere! He's supposed to sit in the chair and keep an eye on the kids! By golly I told him to substitute, not to slack! You only had one job, Hajime Hinata! ONE JOB!

Though Mikan doesn't mind where that disappointment went off to, she instead sits on a vacant chair nearby and waits for him.

Meanwhile, I have to do my job but I can't do that without Hajime. So, I have to take over for a minute until he's back.

Irritated by the sudden substitution, I pulled out my copy of the script from my pocket _(anime logic, people)_ and sat on the chair that looked used by the Orange Juice. I quickly flipped the pages by the first glance of the bright screen, making sure that the scene I'm watching is according to my analysis from my editing _(though editing through paper is a bit rusty)_.

From what I saw, it's so far so good. I just predicted it by my analysis, and yet it's still worked like a charm. Everything is according to the revised script I made, all part of my job...sort of. If you want to know what I was talking about, please scroll down to the Author's Note.

Moving on. While I imitated Makoto's job in staring on to the television screen _(I wonder how in the world he can watch the kids without blinking)_ , I realized that an unknown object appeared in my field of vision without me knowing how long it was there the whole time.

From what I see, it looks like a piece or pieces of paper written in big words. Fold and rested, the strange object is played on the desk untouched by anyone _(based on my analytic talent_ ). My curiosity got the best of me as my hand unconsciously extends towards the heap, the texture is soft yet crisp when my fingers are in contact with the object.

It's strange to see a different kind of paper than the one I always see as a script we always used in the company, so I...forgot what the thing I'm holding was called _(the least you expect of me from 'Zero' is my former self-being forgetful)_. The only thing I remembered was that people from the outside mostly used it to read every morning, and they are mostly long and big. Not only there are words inside there, but pictures too when it's in the front.

Ummmm… What was it called again? It had something to do with...news...

News... news... news... paper? Ah, that's right! A newspaper!

Wow! It's been a while since I've never read a broadsheet newspaper before. I didn't even remember why I don't even think about reading it either. Oh well, it's better to be late than never.

These stubborn hands start to unfold the newspaper as my eyes have begun inspecting words from the first page, I think it's called a 'Headline'.

Odd. My hands begin to sweat for some reason, so does my heart beating in a haste.

Ito Ishioka Building on fire, two students and a teacher part of the casualty

Fire?

 _\- Robotics student Tadashi Hamada and his younger brother Hiro Hamada were one of the victims in a fire at Ito Ishioka Robotics Laboratory. Along with the death of the Hamadas was the robotics scientist and university professor Robert Callaghan who received fatal 3rd-degree burns from the blaze, he was claimed dead on arrival at the hospital. The fire was started within the laboratory premises where students witnessed an explosion from an exposed wire, light materials that were near to the spark ignited the fire that spread inside. The 14-year-old boy succumbed to the smoke while his older brother was hit by falling debris, following by Callaghan who tried to save them. Police officers and the university are under investigation on what caused the fire that killed three people._

I could only follow a "My god" before I flipped another page. My teeth chatters quietly and gently, my legs need some rest but they couldn't budge.

And if I say it's been a while, I say it's a LONG TIME reading this type of paper, and I'm not liking what I'm reading. Is this what newspapers are contained daily? _  
_

The case of the Heavenly Host Elementary murder continues

This is going to suck. _  
_

 _\- The murders of Sachiko Shinozaki, Ryo Yoshizawa, Tokiko Tsuji, and Yuki Kanno is still held on trial against the Heavenly Host Elementary School after Takamine Yanagihori, the_ _institute's principal,_ _who killed the children and buried their corpses within the school's premises. Forensics discovered that the murder weapon of the accused wielded sewing scissors where the wounds of the victims match the size of the scissors was used to stab the late students. Families of the deceased are still crying for justice as the principal refused to speak towards the public._

Murder...real life murder happening in this place. One thing that Tsumugi said that isn't true is that the Outside World isn't as peaceful as it seems, she's just luring the people she manipulated into Despair -

 **YEESH!** Now I remember why I don't read newspapers that much. _(I would rather not talk about it)_

I folded the newspaper as fast as I could, obscuring most of the headlines from the front. Afterward, I place it inside of a nearby drawer and immediately closed it.

Sighing is the response I had while looking behind my back just in case Mikan and Chihiro noticed my odd behavior, thankfully they didn't. Those bad news were getting into my head, and I was reading two headlines for goodness sakes!

While I was a bit distracted from my self-doubt, I didn't notice that the television screen just glitched on me for a mere second. I caught that kind of attention when more than one televisions began to fizz. The lights go on and off and on and off for some odd reason. This fanfiction wasn't even a horror genre, but this scenario is starting to give me some goosebumps.

Though, in my guts _(or my analytical prowess is at it again_ _)_ , the screens glitching out looks like as if someone was... hacking it? No, it can't be Chihiro! He's too morally aligned to do that _(unless he needs to)_!

Eventually, he and Mikan noticed the glitch from the systems that our nurse plucked out a scalpel from her skirt pocket _(again, anime logic)_.

"Mikan? Ryoko? What's happening?!" Chihiro asked us when he's starting to get the heebie-jeebies. She could only pull him behind her just in case some idiot is about to jumpscare us out of the screen.

I, on the other hand, prepared myself in a fighting stance. If that idiot is coming to scare us, the last thing he'll remember was me kicking his Delicates and I am NOT afraid to do it! Also, where the heck Hajime is when we need him?! How disappointing...

Heck, even Chihiro had to pull something out just to defend himself. He actually took off his shoes as a projectile weapon! He may be scared, but he's not afraid to fight just to help us in winning.

The television screens glitch faster and faster that it might give me some visual problems in the future until... it went black.

"Huh? That... was anticlimactic." I commented while slowly relaxed but still holding my stance.

Chihiro asks, "Is this normal? Did someone just, you know, meddled with the televisions or something?"

"Well, it's not you. Not even Hajime because he's an idiot for that." I smirked on mentioning Orange Juice's name _(I wonder if he heard that though)._

Mikan is not convinced that our televisions went crazy like it came out from nowhere, "So if it's not him or Hajime, then who?"

...

Looks like we got our answer for that when the televisions turned on at the same time, revealing a VERY familiar face.

 **"Well, well, well! It looks like someone forgot a fellow Danganronpan!"**

Though this caused Chihiro to curse out - **"WHAT THE F %$?!"**

 _(holy guacamole, the Ex-Ultimate Programmer just swear... Good thing we censored that)_

Hajime heard Chihiro's cursing that he went out of the kitchen waving a glass of chocolate milk on his hand. I'm surprised he didn't spill it, not even a drip!

"Whatisit? What'sgoingon?! IhaveachocolatemilkandIamnotafraidtouseit!" He babbled much to my dismay. Only to facepalm at the sight of the person on the screen.

What's on the television and who spoke? I give you hints.

1\. She's pink.

2\. She's an idiot.

3\. She's a pain in the neck.

Put it together and what do you get? It's Junko **FREAKING** Enoshima!

Wearing the original outfit of hers in the series _(and no, I will not mention her cleavage - oh wait)_ , she's just as jolly as ever. Much like the Ultimate Despair in the show when she's feeling excited about Despair and stuffs like that... Oh, boy.

 **"Blegh! You kiss your mother with that mouth?!"** Junko _(the Jerk)_ complained with her 'Punk' persona appearing, **"We don't normally put mature language in the previous seasons, but COME ON! Not in the work station! Any type of personal activity the employee commits must do it outside!"**

I kinda felt so sorry for Chihiro right now, he had his jaw dropped. Not literally, well maybe, but you know what I mean. If you were in his shoes and saw the Ultimate Despair, the so-called Mastermind of 'The Biggest, Most Horrible, Most Tragic Event in Human History', you would either look away or just freeze there.

Mikan carefully closes Chihiro's mouth shut. Then, she looked at Junko awkwardly.

"W - W - Well, Chihiro just s - saw you for the first time. Is it okay for you not scaring him... please?" She asked Junko on the monitor. I'm impressed that she's the first person who has the guts to speak to her.

Most of our co-workers had to tolerate her blabbering many things. She is _(emphasis on the 'is' part)_ the bad guy of our show. Everyone knows that, so why would anyone bother to talk to a villain? I don't know. Heck, she's the Embodiment of the Danganronpa series! I swear I could remember poor Mondo slamming his head because he couldn't stand her blabbermouth all the time.

She raised a brow while switching to her 'Cutesy' form, **"Wait, that critter** _(CRITTER?!)_ **over there's your System Administrator?"**

"Chihiro Fujisaki. The 'Trap' character. Season 1?" He answered with his voice sounded like he was in _Trigger Happy Havoc_? He even acknowledged himself as the 'Trap'! You don't want to know whose idea it was either. Yeesh.

Much to our dismay, Junko the Jerk looked like she forgot a little about Chihiro. She's been doing what 'Winnie the Pooh Bear' does when he's think, think, thinking. We paused for a while until she was able to get a hit from her memory.

 **"OH WRIGHT! Dat one who got hish head knocked by a dombbell! Oh, shilly me!"** Her 'Goofy' side comically slapped her head. The four of us were not laughing at her joke _(just breathe, Ryoko)._

Having enough of her dark humor, I decided to get into the conversation.

I cleared my mouth and asked, "Can we just cut to the chase, Junko? We have a schedule to follow."

 **"Such a hasty one, Junko the Second. What is the affair that you have more priorities than yours truly?"** She grilled me as her 'Queen' persona.

"It's Ryoko Otonashi. How many times I have to tell you that?"

 **"Eight hundred fifty."**

 _(LET THIS END ALREADY!)_ "Get on with it," I begged Junko. Thankfully, she switched to a more tolerable 'Teacher' personality _(and my favorite, unfortunately)_.

Junko readied her glasses as she begins to read whatever is on her clipboard, **"As requested, here are the updates for the... questionable 'Revising' of the _Danganronpa V3_ show."**

She started the presentation by gliding her pen on her clipboard and some digital materials popped up. She revealed documentary pictures combined with captions and other stuff attached to the screen.

Junko first showed a video of Kazuichi hammering pipes in the Despair Road, there's a caption saying _*cue_ Careless Whisper _in the background*_.

 **"First, so far the Construction Team was able to fix the show's 'minigame' while trying not to alarm the characters from the noise."**

I nodded from the progress. I'm glad Kazuichi's alright from the job because fixing the Despair Road during the show is pretty frightening if you're not careful. We don't want any of the _V3_ Kids 'Breaking the 4th Wall' even though the audience doesn't give a crap about the characters.

Other than that, I heard Mikan sighing in relief. She must have been worried about how Kazuichi deals with the hectic schedule. Meanwhile, I can hear Hajime whistling the _Careless Whisper_ song behind us while listening to Junko's report, the tone sounds more upbeat. It looks like he's proud of his fellow member in the job. It's not like you've seen that Orange Juice smiling sometimes in his job, especially when Makoto is around.

After Junko discarded the first one, and another picture popped up revealing Mahiru talking to some people in a strange white room.

The caption below reads _*A few days left before grand opening*_.

 **"Koizumi has finished discussing with the volunteered artists for our 'Danganronpa Museum'. Hopefully, we will be able to finish it before the opening."**

Chihiro's eyes widened, astonished from the news. "We have a museum?!"

"Yep," Hajime nodded. "Some of the artists you see were the previous actors of the other seasons. I guess you could say that some were 'sponsored'."

Mikan looked at Hajime, "I heard that there are famous artists who will post their work there too. I'm so excited."

I smiled. I mean, we should be excited. Despite the controversies, we still want to follow the show's true goal before. If art expresses the true colors of one person, then it might help resonate with people one way or another.

Though, when I looked at Junko on the screen, she seemed to be bothered by what she's trying to read on her clipboard.

Hmmm... I don't want to jump into conclusions just yet. Maybe she was trolling around or having a hard time making a joke to us. Junko normally does that whenever she pops out of nowhere. I mean, I don't mind since that's Junko and she's a pain in the neck all the time.

However, seeing her face like that, it's not the first time she did it. Nor the second. Okay, I have to admit that she actually... 'cared' about us despite being an idiot. She knows her limits, much to my dismay. If it's just fun and games, then she'll just do whatever she wants because that's how she was 'programmed'. But deep within her code, she does have a soft spot.

And before you ask, she's an AI. _(there I said it. Happy?)_

The others noticed Junko's silence. Mikan, Hajime, and I already recognized that look. I can tell you that something IS WRONG.

"Is something of a matter from what you read, Junko?" I probed her when she seemed motionless.

With her 'Normal' self slipping in, she blurted "I'm fine with what I read. It's just I'm not sure how to say it in front of you boneheads without any Despair banging inside you all."

Chihiro had his heart beating fast. He already felt that it's going to be bad news that not even Junko herself is making it a joke.

I can't say much until it's proven true, but rumors are spreading around the building. Something about the company being in danger from something the whole Team is having a hard time dealing with. Obviously, whoever heard the news already got panic running in their faces even though they tried to hide it.

"It's the Thing, isn't it?"

She faced me with an impassive look, **"You know those rumors are true, Ryoko."**

I could hear Hajime trying not to curse out loud, Mikan holds down her tears as much as she can, and Chihiro biting his lip while having difficulty to process the situation we're having right now.

"How's the Team coping with it?" I consulted out of worry for the others.

 **"Aside from what I just reported, perhaps this is the justified thing of covering IT up. Most of them pretended like they never heard it."**

Hajime interjected, "So no matter what, IT will happen? We can't stop IT?"

 **"Believe me, we tried. Not even Mr. Kamukura can stop IT."**

"W-Wh-What are we gonna do now?! How are we going to live the way things were if IT is going to take over Team Danganronpa?!" Mikan stutters while asking the question.

 **"...I'm not even sure about this either, Mikan. Juzo and the others had a meeting and placed Team Danganronpa under high security."**

While we put on our brave faces in handling the Thing, Chihiro is getting tensed up. Of course, he doesn't know about this. I know he's trying to act like an adult, but we can't scare him off.

"Wait," Chihiro took a step forward unexpectedly. "What is IT? How come people know IT yet try to at least find the source of the problem? And why on earth I wasn't told about this?!"

Junko glared at him when she feels like she's being interrogated, **"You weren't told about IT? It's obvious you're still a kid to understand this ADULT ONLY problem."**

"But I'm old enough to get involved in this job! I trained for this job so I won't be useless in the Team!"

 **"And what are you going to do?"** Junko leans closer towards him. I already have a bad feeling about their argument that I'm beginning to pull him back _(you don't want to see her angry)_. Though, I feel like he's holding his ground. Chihiro is a person who goes straight to the problem right away. He's not meek when it comes to serious problems like the  Thing that 'everyone' was worried about.

Chihiro Fujisaki is not backing down, "We do what we always do! We solve it. Isn't that the right thing to do?"

Junko shakes her head while placing her hand over her face. She's not shifting to another personality, this is a genuine reaction of hers. **"Chihiro. You still have NO idea what your job in Team Danganronpa is. It's not just entertainment or rehabilitation we're talking about. This is a real danger and IT will take your life if you let your guard down.** **"**

He blinked in confusion from her blunt words.

Junko's stoic eyes loomed over Chihiro, **"...Especially if it's in our Protocol."**

Chihiro stammered, looks like there's something he didn't know about his job. "P - Protocol? W - What protocol?"

I'm the only person who can answer.

" _Noli_. Protocol Number 92617- _Noli_. The End of all Odds." I told Chihiro while tightening my grip on his shoulders. The boy went stiff by the codename.

Hajime looked at me as if he's seen a ghost. "You just have to tell him that, didn't you?"

I placed my hands inside my skirt pocket, "We have to."

 **"Ryoko."**

I turned my head at Junko who stared at me in a dominating manner. Like a soldier commanding their cadet to an unimaginable war _(I knew it. We're gonna die)_. **"Once Protocol _Noli_ happens, we can't turn back. ALL OF US can't turn back. Team Danganronpa will have to face this sooner or later, but some people are in fear of their lives. I'm not even sure how long I will last here."**

"I don't understand, why didn't you tell me about this?" He asked us.

 **"You don't want to end up like the other scaredy cats, do you?"**

Chihiro raised a brow, "Huh?"

Junko crossed her arms, **"Since you're one of the youngest people in Team Danganronpa, most of us aren't SANE enough to tell any of you about this. Even if you did, what would happen to you? Are you going to lash out at the Team for hiding this secret, after all the years of raising you? Will you selfishly turn against your co-workers over a single truth?"**

Out of concern for Junko, I just didn't say anything.

 **"This isn't some drama show, I can see it in your face. No commercial breaks can save you from this 'plot twist' because you are HERE. With us, with our lives on the line. Believe me when I said that most of our workers almost or already resigned because of fear. Fear that they won't survive, fear that they will never get to see their family again, fear to face the scary truth. Even if they did resign, their corpses will be in the headlines. Others found a... different kind of escape. I couldn't be happy at that part... it's just too horrible to even talk about."**

Chihiro, on the other hand, nodded yet worried at the same time.

She sighed, **"Allow me to give you a kind warning before you about to do something stupid,"**

Worriedly, Mikan rubs the fabric of her dress. Hajime's clenched hand turns white when he's thinking of a rebuttal if Junko badmouths Chihiro.

Junko just gave Chihiro a sincere smile, **"Try not to die like they did. I don't want you to suffer such fate."**

It's vague, but enough to make Chihiro stagger that I have to help him balance.

When he has enough strength to talk, he looked at me and asked, "Is this real? Are we... really going to die?"

I didn't give him a straight answer.

"...I'm scared, Ryoko." He whispered.

"I know. We all are."

"But..." Chihiro lightly shakes himself off from my grasp.

I'm not sure how he felt when this secret revealed but we already expected -

 ** _SSB3YW50IHRvIGNoYW5nZQ==_**

They expected the boy, who is still in shock about this dark secret of Team Danganronpa, to be angry at them. Angry that he lashed out in front of them and decided to immediately quit. If he's in a vengeful mood, he might as well sue the company or expose those dark secrets that the Team had to hide from the public. Or worse, he might join any hate group and commit an all-out attack at the building.

Worst case scenario, he will follow Junko's advise do the unthinkable.

Ryoko, Mikan, and Hajime think that it's an exaggerating thing for Chihiro to do. But they're veterans, they've dealt worse.

And to the child who's struggling in going back to his knees from Taichi's death, it's possible for his gift of programming. They expect that much to the Ex-Ultimate Programmer, and they don't mind since it was bound to happen. They also wanted Chihiro to be free from the stigma of the people from the Outside World and they 'hoped' that the boy will start anew.

Instead...

Chihiro looked at the three of us adults with a determined smile on his face, "...I also want to be brave. I want to be strong."

This surprises everyone, even Junko herself blinked twice to check if she's not glitching.

"I told you I'm old to be in Team Danganronpa. I worked hard so I can help people the best way I can. I didn't even expect it to be the System Administrator of the Team. I just used my talents as a Programmer, that's all. But when members are suffering, I don't want to stay and do nothing. The Chihiro Fujisaki in the show didn't have the chance to help because he died. And now I'm here, I want to show the world who Chihiro Fujisaki truly is!"

 ** _Tm93J3MgdGhlIHRpbWUsIEkgY2FuJ3QgaGlkZSBpdCBhbnltb3Jl_**

Mikan gasped, "Chihiro..."

Hajime's shoulders relaxed, "Looks like that kid's maturing gracefully, after all."

Wow, I didn't expect for Chihiro to hold his ground like that. When we had a Casting Call in _Trigger Happy Havoc_ , Chihiro is quiet and had his eyes on his laptop every shooting. He even had trouble acting as the 'Trap' character in the show not because he's embarrassed on pretending to be a girl, but because he doesn't know acting and was scared on getting help from the other actors on how to play as his character. All he knows is Programming, his father said that to me before. Taichi Fujisaki was the one who encouraged his son to join the Danganronpa show so he can slowly experience what the outside world is like and how to deal with different kinds of people.

Of course, we taught Chihiro on the basics of acting. While he still has lots to learn about emotions... and playing dead, he did a good job in the show. Though some of the people want Chihiro because of the 'loli' cliche, he does appreciate fans who understood his character and as an actor. Taichi was proud of him.

Team Danganronpa knew what Chihiro had gone through after that and we did our best to support him along the way... especially from what happened to his father afterward. We knew Chihiro needs some help in coping with Taichi's illness and death, but we sometimes forget that he's growing up.

Since Taichi was gone, the members of Team Danganronpa became Chihiro's guardians. He worked so hard to help people the best way he can, and I'm so proud of what he has accomplished along the way.

I was so worried about Protocol _Noli_ that I forgot about Chihiro's growth. The Protocol is not something to be treated as a joke... and it will hurt people that it could change people's lives forever, even Chihiro. But seeing him growing to be a strong man in his way puts a smile on my face.

Junko and I smiled at Chihiro. Oh, he grows up so fast _(this brings tears to my eyes, but I don't want to cry in front of him)_.

"We don't need to hide secrets for each other's safety anymore." Chihiro declared. "We... are a Team, right?"

Pleased with Chihiro's resolve, Mikan ran to the boy and gave him a tight hug that startles the System Programmer. "We're Team Danganronpa, Chihiro! We're a Team!" She squealed while putting Chihiro down.

Hajime placed his hands over his hips, "If someone messes one with us, they'll have to deal with us and an army of Monokumas to fight them back."

"We're not just a Team, Chihiro." I saw the chocolate milk that Hajime put down. Since he's thirsty from his _(heartwarming)_ speech, I reached the glass and gave it to Chihiro. "We're family and we care for each other."

The boy-turned-man smiled as he took a sip of his chocolate milk.

I looked on the floor, aware of what I wasn't able to say to Chihiro when he was young. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this sooner. None of us wanted to make you worry."

Still drinking his chocolate milk, he nods without any second thoughts.

Mikan noticed Hajime looking at the script. He's already worried about this, and now he's anxious of another problem. I don't know what it is, but I... hope that all of us will live.

Putting on her crown, Junko sets her 'Queen' persona once more. **"And sooner or later, the young prince will inherit the throne become a full-fledged king! A royal who is loved by many and a knight who will fight until the end!"**

Chihiro chuckled, content with everyone's support.

"Dream on, Junko. Dream on." The boy replied with his lips stained with some chocolate mustache.

* * *

 **5!**

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 **4!**

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 **3!**

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 **2!**

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 **1!**

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 **"DANGANRONPA!"**

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

Ultra Despair Girls: Danganronpa Another Episode

Danganronpa 3: End of Hope's Peak Academy

Super Danganronpa 2.5: Nagito Komaeda and the World Destroyer

Next Danganronpa 4: Despair Beyond Hope

Final Danganronpa 5: Monokuma Returns

Dream Danganronpa 6: Hope's Name

Shin Danganronpa 7: Despair vs. Hope

Return of Danganronpa 8: A New Hope and Despair

Miracle Danganronpa 9: Despair's Counterattack

Anniversary Danganronpa 10: Birth of Despair

Danganronpa ZERO

Danganronpa 1 & 2: Beautiful School Days

Danganronpa Gaiden: Killer Killer

Danganronpa: Togami

Danganronpa: Kirigiri

Ultra Despair Hagakure

Makoto Naegi Secret File

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc IF

 **Danganronpa Another: Another Despair Academy**

 **Super Danganronpa Another 2: The Moon of Hope and The Sun of Despair**

 **Danganronpa: The After**

 **Danganronpa: Heights of Despair**

 **Danganronpa: Shattered Hope**

 **Danganronpa XL: Ever After**

 **Danganronpa: Hope Restoration**

 **Danganronpa F**

 **Danganronpa: Blowback**

 **Danganronpa: Kill/Cure**

 **Danganronpa: DEADication**

 **Danganronpa 4K**

Danganronpa 20

Danganronpa 21

Danganronpa 22

Danganronpa 23

Danganronpa 24

Danganronpa 25

Danganronpa 26

Danganronpa 27

Danganronpa 28

Danganronpa 29

Danganronpa 30

Danganronpa 31

Danganronpa 32

Danganronpa 33

Danganronpa 34

Danganronpa 35

Danganronpa 36

Danganronpa 37

Danganronpa 38

Danganronpa 39

Danganronpa 40

Danganronpa 41

Danganronpa 42

Danganronpa 43

Danganronpa 44

Danganronpa 45

Danganronpa 46

Danganronpa 47

Danganronpa 48

Danganronpa 49

Danganronpa 50

Danganronpa 51

Danganronpa 52

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

* * *

 **The Story** is not over.

A new **Killing Game** will begin once more.

* * *

TEAM **DANGANRONPA** presents

 _Danganronpa V3_ _Killing Harmony ~REWIND~_ _: Justice Incarnate_

* * *

"...de..."

 _Nothing._

 _No light. No sound._

 _No form. No voice._

 _No knowledge of who I am._

"...a...ede..."

 _...Who I am?_

 _Who am I?_

"...K...a...e...d...e..."

 _I extend a hand._

 _A hand that belongs to know one._

 _To take hold of my existence -_

**"KAEDE!"**

In an instant, the blonde-haired girl snapped her eyes wide open as she gasped for air but ended up coughing instead.

 _Wh... what just happened to me?_

 _Why can't I breathe?!_

* * *

 **U**

 **L**

 **T**

 **M**

 **A**

 **T**

 **E**

 **PROLOGUE**

 **R**

 **E**

 **V**

 **I**

 **V**

 **A**

 **L**

* * *

Kaede couldn't stop coughing. No matter how much she wanted to shut her mouth, something, whatever it is, kept her from doing so. Her chest is constricting her from breathing right, her nose felt like fire, and her head is experiencing the worst migraine in her entire life. It feels like she's dying... again.

Again?

When did she think of that all of a sudden?

 _This is me._

 _My name is Kaede Akamatsu._

 _I just remembered who I am._

 _Nice to meet... me._

 _I'm the protagonist of this crazy story._

Fortunately, a heavy force pushes her to sit up while aiding her in clearing out her throat.

"Easy, Kaede. Just keep breathing. Tenko is here. It'll be okay."

She followed the voice of the person, named Tenko, revealing another girl wearing twin tails helping her to sit up. Next to her, the person that Tenko is leaning away from, is Rantaro who sighed in relief on Kaede's condition.

"Good. You're awake. Everyone was worried about you not waking up. It's like you're dying from being exposed to the gas for too long." He shoulders himself upwards, and then he held out his hand to Kaede. Leaving Tenko shot the boy a sour look.

 _Gas?_

 _What happened to me -_

 _Oh, right._

 _It...happened, didn't it?_

Kaede takes Rantaro's offer of help and he lifted the girl safely... with the help of Tenko though.

Still light-headed, the recovered pianist viewed her barely conscious students. Some couldn't get up on their feet yet, while others were coughing hard. She saw Ryoma aiding Shuichi who was about to puke, they were the two people who helped her and Miu from going back before Shuichi went unconscious. Speaking of which, where is that potty-mouthed Inventor?

"Miu... Where's Miu?" Kaede asked.

The pacifistic warrior answered while beckons at her 'genius' classmate using her thumb, "RANtaro gave her a CPR. She's alright, I think."

She raised a brow in question. Her eyes shifted to a corner where Miu rested. The Gorgeous Girl Genius already woke up, but she doesn't seem to be spraying any bad words like she always does. Kaede decided to let the curbed teenager be and take care of her other classmates, like the hysteric Tsumugi Shirogane. That poor girl, Kaede felt sorry for what Tsumugi had witnessed.

Kaede went to the cosplayer in concern, Tsumugi couldn't stop crying that her glasses were stained by her tears.

"Are you alright, Tsumugi? You're not hurt, are you?"

The crazed schoolgirl looked at Kaede with heavy droplets still flowing from her eyes, "Alright? **ALRIGHT?!** No! I'm not alright!"

 _I shouldn't have asked that._

"Wh - what... was that just now?!" Tsumugi stuttered while trying to find words on the situation before.

The only student who laid flat on the floor is the barely conscious Himiko, "Wh - what's going on? On the other side of the door was..."

"Where..." Kaito coughed, "...even are we? Wh - What in the world... is going on?!"

"I... I don't know..." Kaede answered softly while comforting her sniveling friend. Everything went too fast for her. She thought the door was the exit, but the other side was... horrifying for her to even describe it.

Kokichi had his hands over his head. It looks like Kaede wasn't the only one who has to suffer a bad migraine. "Ugh... I feel terrible." His body jerked and he covered his mouth as a response, "It's like I'm eating my own vomit, and it's disgusting."

"Do you HAVE to say that?!" Himiko shoots back at Kokichi's insensitive jest.

Kirumi aided Korekiyo over her shoulders, the anthropologist doesn't look good behind the mask. "Outside was... gas. It made us fallen ill and unconscious." The Maid recounted what she saw earlier.

"But outside was... scary... very scary. Gonta not strong enough to breathe right." Gonta sniffled while taking care of Angie. The Artist... had it rough. She was in a frenzied state that she kept on rocking back and forth while whispering 'Atua' from her fidgeting lips.

 _Everyone... they're suffering from what they witnessed._

 _Oh! Is this a dream?_

 _Yeah! It must be a bad dream!_

 _I just have to pinch myself, right?_

The blonde reached her free hand to the side of her cheek and tighten the grip of her fingers while pulling her skin indiscriminately. And just like what happened to her in the lockers when she first awakened, it made her aching head two times worse.

"Hey," Maki called Kaede, she's a bit weak but it looks like she doesn't want to show it. "Answer me this. Is that really the Outside World? Monokuma pushed you out of the room, remember?"

The jailbird evaluates, "It can't be some sort of prank. I saw those... those things outside."

"Things? What things?" Kaito asked when he heard Ryoma talking about a new topic.

"Those disgusting slugs that almost caught us when we went outside," Miu faced them while her hands were placed on her hips. Her bombastic attitude went desist all of a sudden. "I thought we're screwed. It's the truth."

Kaede is starting to have trouble processing what happened. She took a deep breath even though it hurts her chest a little, "Ummm... Okay, hold on a sec. Let's just stay calm and think this through."

"There is no need for thinking. All you need is despairing!"

"M - Monokuma?!" Kaede gasped.

A familiar, jolly voice alarms the fifteen students. Introducing from the corner is the so-called 'God of the New World', the Headmaster of the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles.

Monokuma.

"Puhuhuhuhu~! Gooooooood morning, everybody!" The monochrome bear greeted, "How is everyone? Good? Good?"

The loud groans from 'his students' gave him the answer, much to his disappointment. "Geez, this is quite the pity party you sadsacks are throwing for yourselves!"

{RISE AND SHINE, URSINE - !}

Right behind Monokuma was the five Monokuma Cubs, all present in one piece.

Monophanie had her paws resting on her chest, she is the Cub who has the most concern to the kids. "Wow, you all look exhausted. Poor things. I feel sorry for you."

"Sheesh, this place is filthy. It's murder on my cashmere skin." Monotaro felt a little bit of outrage on what the place was.

Monokid pointed at the meek Monodam and bellowed, "I bet Monodam is feelin' lucky right now! His body's already a cheap piece of junk!"

Of course, Monodam remained silent even though he is clearly trying to ignore Monokid's harsh comment on him for a robot-bear.

Monosuke nudged the green Monokuma Cub's arm, "Why don'tcha respond to him, Monodam? It'll liven up the things, y'know?"

"Tch… So you guys crawled outta your holes. I guess you finally noticed what we were up to." The disheveled spaceman stomped his foot on the metal floor, angry at the 'people' that everyone assumed to be their captors.

"Noticed? You don't have to blame my precious Cubs from what you saw." Monokuma retaliates at the amateur astronaut, even tiptoeing to look more dominant than Kaito at least. "You wanted to escape to the Outside World and I granted you that wish. And what do you saw? Nothing. Absolutely NOTHING. That's the truth of the Outside World."

"The truth...of the Outside World...?" Shuichi repeated what the main mascot had just declared.

"Yep! That Outside World youse people been looking for is gone. Disappear. Bye Bye. Game Over." Monosuke emphasized.

Maki glares, "What are you talking about? What do you mean... gone?"

The bespectacled Cub irritatingly pushed his glasses, "Of course, youse didn't know that. All of them didn't know that because youse didn't remember any of this!"

"We... no remember?" Gonta asks out of shock. They were trapped in the school, saw whatever was outside, and then they didn't remember a specific memory involving that?

Kaede slowly feels the anger and confusion overwhelming her mind, "W - Wha - What do you mean we didn't remember?"

 _There was a flash of memory that I remember when Shuichi and I met before._

 _I was there in a strange room, everything was too bright to see but..._

 _I know I was there - because I saw myself doing...something._

 _Could it be...?_

"You did something to us, didn't you?" Kaede asked Monokuma and the Monokuma Cubs. This not only alarmed his children but to the students as well.

The Cubs, however, are terrified of what the leading lady had found out.

"Eeeek!" Monotaro came near to Monokuma and begins to tug his father's paws in panic. "Father! She knew! She knew!"

"We're goin' OFF SCRIPT! How could dis be possible?!" Monosuke threw his abacus on the ground, shattering it into pieces by his anger.

The blue, punk-looking Monokuma Cub trudged towards Monodam and grabbed the vulnerable Cub by his ear. "This is all your fault, you know that? I knew you're gonna screw up before the Killing Game even started!"

Despite Monodam knows Monokid was the one who screwed up, he didn't respond.

The only Cub who is calm about the situation is Monophanie. She ignored her brothers' outrage and walked towards Kaede instead. "I'm very sorry for their behavior. But really, they don't mean any harm. We just went off script, that's all."

"So you really have done something to us?!" Maki asked the pink Cub menacingly, only to be stopped by Kaede from advancing Monophanie.

Monokuma's daughter frightfully took one step back, "I - I'm sure Daddy has a good explanation about this. Right, Daddy? Daddy?"

She looked to where her zoological patriarch is, revealing to be motionless despite Monotaro's forceful tug.

The remaining Cubs now noticed their robust father with his head hanging limply. The uneasy aura from the room and Monokuma's silence caused the students to be on their guard for whatever the mascot's tricks up on his sleeves.

After seeing what's beyond the exit, they had enough of the pranks those 'teddy bears' had come up with. First, they declared the Killing Game and wanted the students to kill each other to leave the Academy. Next, the unknown Sixteenth Student showed up and ran away which leads them to a secret room. And when they thought of the door that leads to the Outside World that almost got Kaede, Miu, Shuichi, and Ryoma died from the gas. All of them are done with the shenanigans, they want it to be over with.

Since the truth is immediately exposed right in front of their faces, Monokuma needs to explain. NOW.

Then, he faced the Ultimate Students spiritless. His eerie red eye dims as he begins to speak:

 **"Once upon a time, there is Hope's Peak Academy. A school where the young Ultimates, students who are very talented in their abilities were scouted. The government-funded Hope's Peak to help those Ultimates reach their dreams as their so-called 'New Generations of the Future'."**

Everyone blinked. Monokuma started his explanation as if he's reading a fairytale. Of course, the Monokuma Cubs were getting spooked by their father who went 'Out-of-Character' all of a sudden, even his voice changed. It's monotonous like he's been possessed or something...

 **"But then... the Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic in Human History happened. Destroying not only the school but the whole world. It was Humanity's true Despair from that time. War, Murder, Terrorism... it's almost as if the world has literally shattered before their very eyes."**

 _The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic in Human History?_

 _I didn't remember any of that!_

 _Unless..._

 **"That tragedy was led by a single Human girl. An Ultimate who is an Embodiment of Despair, craving nothing but Despair itself.** Junko Enoshima. **"**

Maki's body twitches at that particular name. Junko Enoshima? The whole world was destroyed because of one girl? How is that possible?!

 **"And from that, Junko started the Killing Game to the survivors of that tragedy. The 78th class of Hope's Peak. Broadcasted from the whole world, everyone watched as the students cornered until their instinct to murder kicks in."**

"Which means, this has happened before..." Ryoma glared from the revelation. So that whole Killing Game gimmick wasn't a prank at all. It's real.

Kaito, on the other hand, had his fists ready in case he had enough of Monokuma.

 **"But the poor, vulnerable, Junko Enoshima dies. The ending of the Killing Game influenced the world to recover from its destruction. Thus, the Future Foundation is created to get back at the monstrous Remnant of Despairs. And soon, the world restores its balance and 'Hope' has won the war. Then... comes the End of Days."**

Tsumugi had her eyes awestruck by the story.

 **"Meteorites started to crash down on Earth. And those meteorites carried a disease that slowly kills Humanity all over the world, one by one. The government worked together with the Future Foundation in creating the secret** Gofer Project **. They planned to choose 16 students in the spaceship to save the end of Humanity. In reality, they were only chosen to salvage Humanity by sending them on another planet to preserve any traces of the Human race in case Earth is truly gone. Do you know who those sixteen students are?"**

"It's us, isn't it?" Kirumi answered, upset in the following parts of the story.

 **"Correct."** Monokuma 'cheered' lifelessly. **"The Adams and Eves of the Gofer Project. Chosen not only because you are talented, but because you were 'immune' to the virus."**

Korekiyo's eyes widened, "...How... on earth...?"

 **"It comes with a catch. You had to leave all of your family and friends behind. Because of that, you ran away and erased your memories so no one can detect you. But then, a certain group of people found out about the Gofer Project and decided to sabotage it. They believed that 'Humanity should go to Hell', that the Human race should be punished because they deserved it after destroying the world they live in. Ironic. To sabotage the Gofer Plan, they have to execute the people who are involved with it. And that's where - "**

"The Ultimate Hunt began," Rantaro concluded. This makes everyone look at him, a bit anxious for the person who lost the memory of his talent suddenly remembered the event out of nowhere.

"The Ultimate Hunt?" The instrumentalist asked in confusion. "How did you know about that?"

"I was asking the same thing. But I don't know why you DIDN'T remember that."

Gonta raised his hand, "Wait, Gonta no remember Gophel thingy."

Tenko shook her head, "Me neither."

"Strange." The talentless lower his eyes. The thought of his classmates not remembering the only thing makes him sullen.

Monokuma continued, **"Everyone began to search those 16 students, even interrogating your loved ones for the answer, going as far as torturing them to death. When it went too far, the government and the Future Foundation saved the immune students while making a cover-up that you died in an accident."**

Himiko was shocked by the cruelty, the little girl could feel her insides crawling up her throat that she covered her mouth to prevent from vomiting.

 **"The Gofer Project was a success before Earth is completely destroyed, no oxygen or even living creatures. You were all sent to a spaceship and went to a cold sleep for hundreds of years until it could find a planet to live in."**

Kokichi stood up wearily, "You mean... the spaceship - ?"

 **"Is the school itself, the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles, is the Ark. But someone, something, messed up and caused the Ark re-route back to Earth."**

Kaito is slowly realizing the truth, "Hold up! I - If we returned to Earth, that means..."

"What we just saw... that's Earth now... after a few hundred years..." Shuichi understood what the astronaut and Monokuma meant.

"Wait!" Kaede yelled. "You still hadn't answered my question! What did you do to us?! Why can't we remember about this?!"

Monokuma bluntly voiced out, **"We are still in a Killing Game. We erased your memories, that's why."**

The Cubs were shaking while listening to their father's story. They couldn't take a step away either. It's like Monokuma's hypnotic words froze them in place, even silencing them. However, the people who went outside; Kaede, Miu, Shuichi, and Ryoma, were confused about what the stupid bear was saying. No living creatures? But they saw those 'creatures' moving and tried to attack them, even Maki felt suspicious from that one plothole.

But still...

 **"The world you grew up with, the people who nurtured you as a person... are** gone and erased **. We only gave you the straight answer that you wanted and we told you what you want to know. This is the truth of the Outside World."**

The truth of the Outside World.

Some say that the Truth will set anyone free, but it can still hurt people regardless.

They wanted to believe that Monokuma lied to them. Because it's impossible to leave Earth and went into cold sleep only to realize that the planet they lived in slowly dies until nothing was left for any living thing to at least survive from the harshest terrain. Nevertheless, everything and everyone on Earth is gone.

After a hundred years, they woke up to see the aftermath.

And just like that, the strange and utmost feeling sparked into the minds of the students. The cheerful Angie Yonaga already started that, and the truth already worsens her state. She couldn't stop praying for her 'Atua', scarcely ignoring Gonta's call on her.

"Heh... heheh…" The mischief-maker isn't laughing from all this, none of the students are. "That's a... l - l - lie... right? I... hate liars... I hate them... So it's got to be a lie..."

Himiko went stiff. But even though she is rigid, her own body starts to jitter. This alarms Tenko and tried to consult her despite the latter isn't responding.

Tsumugi had a thousand-yard stare. Despite her body became unresponsive, her voice doesn't. "Our families...our friends...all that we cared about...are dead and we will never see them ever again... This is... is..."

"Cruel, I know." Ryoma pulled back his hat, hiding his mourning eyes from the rest of the group.

The painful truth made Shuichi gave up on holding his vomit. After aiding the silent Korekiyo, Kirumi ran towards Shuichi from what happened to him. However, the composed maid isn't spared in reacting from the revelation.

Maki didn't face her classmates because of the emotion she's suffering. Her cuffed fists were tight that bleeds through her fingers.

 _This is a dream, right?_

 _I'm saying it again. This is a DREAM, right?!_

 _Because it has to be!_

 _Everything is gone!_

 _Everyone I know is gone!_

 _My family... my friends... No..._

 _How could this be?!_

Kaede's eyes went blank. She could see the distorted vision from her sight. The panic, the sadness, the anger, it all mixed up into one new emotion. And she's sure everyone is experiencing the same feeling, there's no other emotion that can respond to the horrifying disaster.

That feeling...

...is **Despair**.

* * *

 _"That's what we do it for to reserve a place. It's just another part of the Human Race. That's what we do it for to reserve a space, and history is just another part of the Human Race."_

 _\- Marina and the Diamonds (Immortal)_

* * *

After endlessly running away from his classmates and successfully escaping, Ki-Bo manages to sneak off into the Cyber Courtyard. It's a little bit dark for some odd reason, but there's still little light along the way.

At least the robot can use himself as a flashlight, much to his 'robophobic' annoyance...

 **Looks like nothing has changed.**

 **Thank goodness, I still remember the secret passage from the last loop...**

He took the time to walk around the maze-like courtyard. It does make the robot a little bit dizzy from walking back and forth, but he was able to find the place where the path leads to.

 **|Loop 0 -** **The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Danganronpa History|**

 _The ominous feeling in the new environment startles both Shuichi and Ki-Bo a bit. However, the soft whirring of the lights and the air vents make the robot feel disturbed. It's like the robot is living inside of another robot's body. Perhaps this is what Humans feel like when they're accompanied by a robot, like Ki-Bo._

 _It's insulting._

 _"What is this place...?" Shuichi wondered out loud in the new location. The intense aura within the detective diminished as he starts using his talent to find answers._

 _Ki-Bo replied with his opinion about the place, "I feel like I'm on a set of a sci-fi movie. A mecha could pop out at any moment..."_

 _Unfortunately, the whining tone of his technological brethren caused Shuichi to stay silent. But the facial expression is telling that it's either Ki-Bo tested his patience or he just wanted the robot to feel unharmed during the investigation, even if it's the former in actuality._

 _The detective decided to move onward and find the end of the 'sci-fi' looking maze as the robot pointed out; "This is... different from the other places we've been so far. And this maze-like hallway... Perhaps it's to defend the building that it leads to?"_

 _Looks like Ki-Bo is on to something as Shuichi silently agrees with the robot and started to wander around the whole courtyard to see which end is the correct one._

 _After spending much time walking back and forth whenever there is a dead-end, the two Ultimate students finally reached the true destination of the courtyard._

 **|Loop 0 -** **The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Danganronpa History|**

Right in front of Ki-Bo is a large, brown metal shutter with an electrical barrier surrounding it like a cage. But the way that the electric barrier is still active does sound apprehensive ever since he noticed the booby traps in the tunnel was not active and the courtyard lost most of its light for some unknown reason. Regardless of his observation, he's not going to bother going close to it. He already knows that before he became a Time Traveler, it's best not to repeat the same mistake since he's the one who triggered it.

Therefore, the young robot instead marched to the small control panel beside the guarded shutter. Ki-Bo could only frown at the small piece of equipment, he has the right to be angry about it. Because this is the very place where Maki, Kokichi, and Kaito fight against each other before the Supreme Leader took the suicidal plan in order to fight back against Monokuma and the mastermind of the Killing Game. The astronaut had to take the fall and sacrificed himself to save the Ultimate Assassin, to whom the latter fell in love with the former before he died from his illness that caused his Execution to backfire.

 **Oh, Kokichi...**

 **Why do you have to be stupid sometimes?**

 **I wanted to apologize to you. So, why can't you accept it?**

Ki-Bo could only sigh in disappointment as he reaches for the side of his 'ear'. Once he was able to grasp ahold of it, he turned his ear like a knob and the lights installed in his body glows. The robot can hear the sound of a tape recorder rewinding itself until he was able to spot what he wants to listen to and pushed his 'ear' inwards.

The place is silent, and only the noise coming from Ki-Bo's own body echoed through the dizzying hallway.

 _"Puhuhu… This place is so important that it needs beefed up security. I guess while I'm here, I'll also explain that electric barrier..."_

He lifted a finger, staying still above the keys of the control panel and waiting for the right moment.

 _"To turn it off, you gotta enter a 59-digit code in the control panel next to the shutter. I'll tell you what the code is, but only once. So make sure you memorize it."_

 **I knew this old tape recording would come in handy.**

 _"503934857857362940569285811037959390029298778848-"_

"92617102917..." He recited while quickly punching the buttons on the control panel while wishing the code he's typing is correct.

By the time the robot pressed the 'Enter' button, he could hear the loud sound of the electric barrier deactivating. Despite still anxious of what he has to go through, this is the time where he could sigh in relief.

Now that the barrier is gone, looks like he has to put his back into opening the shutter on his own.

 **I'd be better off without them.**

 **They don't need a stupid, useless robot.**

* * *

"Oh no. Oh nonononono! Father said it all! He said it all!" Monotaro shrieked.

Monosuke yanked Monotaro's scarf, pulling closer to him. The yellow bear may appear to be composed, but he's already sweating in panic. "Pops said it all. The script is ruined. RUINED I TELL YA!" He yelled at the red ursine's face.

Sure, the students went in Despair as what the Monokuma family had intended to. But Monokuma himself went 'off script' for all of a sudden that the Cubs couldn't even process on what just happened.

Kaito Momota had been staring at Monokuma for so long that his fist is slowly turning white. He had enough of these pranks, and revealing the truth insensitively to his friends is where the 'teddy bear' had gone too far.

Sure, the world's gone to dust and everything they loved and knew had disappeared and they lost their memory from the disaster either. It's sad of course, but mocking the dead and the people who were affected by it is a big no-no for the Luminary of the Stars. Which is a bit hypocritical because he should be cheering his friends from the loss of their loved ones and the world they once lived in, although he's too furious to even do so. Releasing his fury against the person who kidnapped them is the only thing he could do.

But right before Kaito could open his mouth and strike his fist to Monokuma, a strong wind accelerated passed by him that the young adult almost tripped. He couldn't even believe who did what he was supposed to do first. So does the students and the Monokuma Cubs who were surprised by the person who subdued Monokuma.

The boy with green hair lifted Monokuma in the air, his hand wrapped the bear's head tight but not crushing it to pieces. It still scares the heck out of the Cubs when Rantaro, OF ALL PEOPLE, actually approached Monokuma in a threatening manner.

"R - Rantaro?!" Kaede called out the 'talentless' Ultimate by his name out of confusion.

Monophanie seems to be mad about Rantaro's sudden threatening composure, "You monster! How dare you hurt Daddy?!"

"Hey!" Tenko then shouts to the degenerate male, "Are you crazy?! What are you doi -"

She stopped when Rantaro released a menacing chuckle. He's almost not his calm and comical side of himself. Instead, he's the kind of person who has enough fun and games. Even though she doesn't want to admit it, the aikido master felt goosebumps on her skin. The classmate that she berates for being a menace started to scare her a little.

Rantaro smirked, "I'm amazed. You gave us a chance us to escape, lure us to a tunnel filled with failed booby traps, and then showed us that the world has ended years ago. Heh. So, you think you can get away with that stupid fairy tale of yours and leave us to sulk to our death? I don't think so."

He glared at the motionless Monokuma, whose 'evil eye' flashed in red.

"Only a person who is heartless enough to drive all of us to despair who can do this. The problem is, that certain person is nothing but a coward. Using a stuffed animal just to hide and get away from their crimes like this."

The degenerate male has a point, Tenko thinks from her mind. Ignoring what the black and white animal just said about the apocalypse and instead focusing on what Rantaro is doing to Monokuma. Sure, a stuffed animal doesn't have the capability of forcing everyone to kill if there's no one controlling the bear.

"Who are you? What do you want with us? And if you are the Mastermind, what do you even gain from this nonsense? Power? Insanity? Or you just wanted to feel alive by having an obsession with violence? Want my opinion? I'm not even satisfied with your 'Truth of the Outside World' cliché. And I'm not letting you go until I get the answer that I wanted."

From Rantaro's intimidation, Monokuma appears to be twitching until he's flailing from the young man's arms. And then, a glitching sound coming from the bear caught everyone's ears to listen.

 _" **83hfk8wnuf7wp28** \- "_

Kaede's eyes broaden.

 _" **WW91IG5vdGljZWQgd2F5IHRvbyBsYXRlLiBUaGVyZSdzIG5vIERhbmdhbnJvbnBhIHdpdGhvdXQgTW9ub2t1bWEu** \- "_

"Is he alright?" Tenko pointed out the malfunctioning of Monokuma as something is not right.

" **QSBoZWFydC1wb3VuZGluZyBraWxsaW5nIGdhbWUsIGJyb3VnaHQgdG8gbGlmZSBieSBVbHRpbWF0ZSBSZWFsIEZpY3Rpb24u** \- Failure to abide by the rules will be punished - "

"EEP! Father?!" Monotaro yelped in surprise.

The father didn't hear his son's cries. Instead, he began to thrash himself around in the air while Rantaro stood still, completely unfazed on Monokuma's sudden behavior.

Regardless, the headmaster looks ticked.

"Rantaro Amami, you young man! Unhand me this instant or I'll call Gungnir to finish you off!"

The other Monokuma Cubs, except Monodam, charged the talentless student. But Ryoma, Maki, and Kaito were able to catch Monokid, Monotaro, Monophanie, and Monosuke, having to face the same situation as their Father.

"And then? What's gonna happen next? That this story of ours will end just because we got our hopes up too much? Like we're some dumb babies that you can take our candy? That is so immature of you, Monokuma," Rantaro taunted.

Monokuma doesn't understand whatever the heck was going on. First, he saw his students lying around after they discovered the false exit and now, almost all of the ursine family got captured by the meddling kids he was trying to inflict Despair with. To him, everything went blank all of a sudden right before Rantaro yanked his head up.

Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?

He would have asked so many questions if he was Human or even a robot with at least have some humanity in his programming. There was something he could not understand based on their unpredictable actions.

"You still haven't answered my question, Monokuma."

The uncanny voice makes him 'unconsciously' freeze as his captor's dark eyes penetrate Monokuma from the inside out, torturing the headmaster without even twisting a single limb because he doesn't need to. His children, the Monokuma Cubs, are even terrified of what's going on.

The prey becomes the predator. The hunter becomes the hunted. Humans were bound by their emotions if there is an event that they could not understand from their perspective. Soon, they thought of every worst-case scenario they could think of just to at least fathom of what is happening to their environment. Regardless, their emotions overwhelmed them and they only have two options to solve such a 'simple' problem; It's either they run and hide, or fight until they survive.

Yes, one of the pinnacles of Hope - Survival, one of the unpredictable Human traits in history back in the early days. They don't care what they were doing, Humans do what they only want to do - to survive.

Those actions, Rantaro's actions, have shown deep resentment over the Despair that he had to suffer because he saw the Truth. However, it did not stop him. Despair did not stop him from succumbing to it because of Rantaro's desire for Survival. He doesn't show it to his classmates, but those eyes did not silence the cries of Survival. Rantaro wants to survive, even if it means breaking the rules by torturing the perpetrator to get what he needs.

It's who he is, after all. Yet, Monokuma did not predict it since he underestimated Rantaro's abilities despite being a student without any Ultimate Talent to begin with.

And for the first time, that kind of unpredictability sparks Monokuma within him, one that he could never comprehend beyond his programming.

It's not Despair nor Hope.

It's Fear.

"O - o - okay! I yield! I YIELD! Please don't destroy me, **I beg of YOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUU!** " Monokuma instantly cried the heck out of his voice box so Rantaro would at least hear from his sinister composure.

The Monokuma Cubs, however, were just plain dumbfounded. No explanation needed.

A smile crept on Rantaro's lips as he slowly lowers the bear to the solid floor, "Now that's a good bear."

To be honest, Rantaro still hadn't let his guard down when putting down the shaken mascot. He took note that the minuscule figure is still the 'Headmaster' and admitted that the father and his children kidnapped them. Underestimation and overconfidence could be deadly. Rantaro even carefully beckoned the three who pinned the other Monokuma Cubs to free them, considering they still don't know what they are capable of.

But to his amazement, Monokuma had kept his word.

"So um... What was the question again?"

Sort of.

Good thing Rantaro is patient enough to reinstate his question.

Without any signs of his previous surge of insanity, he playfully poked Monokuma's red eye and asked "I just want to see who is controlling you behind the camera. Can you take ALL of us to them?"

He could hear Kaito screaming _'ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!'_ in the distance. The green-haired teenager couldn't help but roll his eyes in dismay, what a way to ruin his thunder. Luckily, Monokuma had his thumb held up much to the Cubs' fear.

"Okie Dokie! But only because you said 'please'." The bear delightfully approved Rantaro's request out of the blue, weird. Rantaro didn't even say 'please' to Monokuma. He decided to let the Mastermind's puppet slide do its thing for a little while.

Monokuma began marching where the exit of the supposedly booby-trapped tunnel while the rest of the Monokuma Cubs followed him babbling on what their ignoring father just did against their desires. Meanwhile, Rantaro noticed the still weakened students standing up and began walking to where Monokuma is heading even though they're showing signs of struggling even though some helped them in taking a single step.

As Kaede and Ryoma helped the sick Ultimate Detective out, only Rantaro and Tenko remained in the room.

"Hey, Rantaro." The aikido practitioner called out.

He turned around to see the girl not in her fighting stance as if she's completely off guard despite they're the only ones standing. The talentless boy is confused at first, but he guessed the twin-tailed girl will probably say some 'degenerate male' comments again.

Despite the early judgment, Rantaro gently replied "Yes?"

"About what you did there a while ago..." Tenko strut close to the degenerate male, her unguarded stance remains. Instead, it replaces with her sincerity towards him. As in, blind, and naïve kind of sincerity.

"Go on..." Rantaro does the same thing. Though, from the inside, he does feel a - rather - tingling sensation that he doesn't let it show from his face.

"It's just..."

"I'm listening."

"About the..."

"Yeah."

"W - what I was trying to say - "

"I have my ears cleaned."

"Seriously - "

"I respect your opinions."

"Well - "

"Don't worry, it's fine."

"Are you - "

"Everything will be al - GUH!"

The least he expects it, Tenko's _waraji_ is planted on top of his shoe. The girl really showed her strength as she has her shoulders hunched, like pushing an unknown source below her without even the need of using her Aikido skills. Rantaro doesn't want to admit, but...

… that honestly hurt. No lies there.

"Ow." Rantaro 'yelped' in a monotone voice, almost sounded like he's being sarcastic towards the young martial artist. As a result of the mistaken approach, Tenko took it as something offensive and pressed her foot further to the degenerate male's toes for a few seconds before hurriedly remove it. He would rather stay silent from the awkward conversation but felt disappointed that he wasn't able to hear what Tenko was about to say to him. From her face, Rantaro thinks of it as something very important and probably vital to the scene of the crime committed by the unidentified Mastermind.

While watching Tenko about to leave, he took a mental note to ask her 'nicely' about what she was trying to communicate for a degenerate male like him.

But as he took a step forward to catch up to her, a red light flashed to his vision and an alarming sound raises his guard along with Tenko.

 **[INTRUDER ALERT]**

 **[INTRUDER ALERT]**

"Intruder Alert?" Kirumi repeated the harrowing announcement that caused the maid to stop dead in her tracks while she was carrying the exhausted Himiko. The others froze when the dim light of the empty tunnel glowed red.

Meanwhile, the father of the Monokuma Cubs stood still and halted anyone who passed him. Unlike before, he wasn't in a weird trance. Instead, the bear's shoulders were arched, his paws shaking as if he has fists formed, and his tone of voice is seethed with anger. The Cubs took a step back and cowered with each other in fear, knowing their father's legitimate rage would to disastrous results for them.

"Oooohhhh dear," Monotaro whimpered "Father is gonna be so mad!"

Monosuke had his paws pinning on his glasses, "OF CAWHSE HE'S GONNA BLOW A FUSE! What'cha expect from an Intruder Alert? A club rave or what?!"

When Monokuma turned around towards the Cubs, the eerie red eye on his face glowed in red as the mismatched lips crept with uneasiness to the four sans Monodam, to which the father had his sight directly towards the robotic child.

"Monodam?"

"YES, FATHER?" Monodam spoke.

The bear asked, "Do you have any coordinates of where the intruder is?"

"THE-INTRUDER-IS-LOCATED-AT-THE-CYBER-COURTYARD."

"And who is that certain traitor who barged in?"

Monokuma's harsh voice startles everyone but Monodam as he responded to the obvious answer.

"THE-SIXTEENTH-STUDENT."

Kirumi, along with the other students, were right from their silent guess. As for the maid herself, although still in shock of what she saw outside, she needs to calm down and think about what is happening around her. She cannot let her emotions cloud her judgment. Rantaro is right about the Mastermind and they need to find out who is controlling each and everyone behind the scenes. However, the maiden also wonders about the existence of the 'sixteenth student' and probably her classmates were suspecting about him too despite the ruckus occurred a while ago.

The frightened voice from the poor student gave her a sense of sympathy for him. Which is odd since she just saw him for the first time when Kaede Akamatsu was able to talk the 'sixteenth student' out at first. But then again, he is a student just like her. All of them were kidnapped after all, and learning the truth of the Outside World doesn't help anyone either. Of course, she's scared to the point of being frozen in fear when she got a glimpse of the blood-red sky before passing out. To think that if the 'sixteenth student' saw beyond the steel gate, who knows what would happen next. And now that the mysterious boy is doing something reckless once more, Kirumi is more concerned about him than ever.

"Now what is that boy up to this time?"

Thankfully, Korekiyo's voice eased her focus on the situation.

"DOES IT MATTER?! He's causing a lot of trouble from being on the loose in this school and now he's at it again! I am angry! I'M SOOOO ANGRY RIGHT NOW!" Unlike Monokuma, who is fumed with anger when Monodam mentioned the 'sixteenth student' he has been raging about ever since the gathering of the other fifteen.

Kaede feels offended by Monokuma's judgment. In fact, why would the hypocrite complaining about someone he thinks as a criminal when the bear himself committed a legit crime like kidnapping.

 _I'd say karma._

"Well, what should we do then, Papa?" Monophanie asked while not taking a step further to the ranting father.

"We get him, of course!"

"Why?" The blonde-haired pianist heard Rantaro's voice coming from behind, seeing him walking out of the room where she would rather not return. "You said you will take us to the Mastermind."

"The boy first! Mastermind later!" Monokuma replied.

Tenko, on the other hand, ran to where the magician is. Thanking the maid who took care of the young mage's weakened state. "And you know what?" She also faced towards Monokuma, "If this is just a lying excuse so we won't know the Mastermind, I might as well have to throw you out of the bridge!"

But the bear is unthreatened by her warning, "But if you threw me, then you lose the chance of meeting with the Mastermind while at it. So I still win!"

"And besides," Monokuma continued "have you ever wondered why would he even running around the school instead of being with you guys?"

The students begin to wonder, which is what Monokuma had wanted. "Come on, fellas! Think about it. Why did he run away to where the Boiler Room is in the first place?"

Kaede soon remembered the conversation her classmates had.

 _But that's where we saw the..._

 _Wait._

"Now that you mention it," Tsumugi, of all people, spoke, "the 'sixteenth student' does look like he WANTED to be chased."

Miu looked at the blue-haired girl, "What makes you say that? He was scared as heck in the tunnels before."

"It's just a guess, Miu. But something tells me he knows what he's doing before..."

 _Is she trying to say that he's -_

 _No, that can't be._

Monosuke pointed his paw towards the cosplayer, "The girl's right, ya know? All ta more reason we have ta check it out."

"What are we waiting for?!" Monokuma called out "Let's get him! OR I'LL NEVER SHOW THE MASTERMIND!"

Kaede's eyes widened in confusion and dismay. Did he just threaten them with a rebuttal?

"Hey wait!" She yelled at the Monokuma family who sprinted away from the students who, to some, are still exhausted to walk yet. Regardless, looks like they have to follow them if they want to know the Mastermind.

Rantaro glared at Monokuma's threat. That's all he could do at the moment since he had his mouth shut, it was the moment of truth and the Headmaster dared to shift the request he demanded. Is Monokuma trying to waste their precious time? Not knowing what the Mastermind would even do to everyone. Heck, he even TORTURED Monokuma just so he will imprint the Mastermind's head not to mess with Rantaro Amami as well as the Ultimate Students.

So what now? Is he going to refute or stay silent again? Will Monokuma even keep his word of proving the Mastermind's existence?

The heck should he know? He couldn't even remember his Ultimate Talent.

The best option Rantaro could do now is to cooperate. He has to catch up with the others if he wants to restate his point to Monokuma again.

* * *

"Oh no..." Ki-Bo struggled in speaking up when gawking at the bewitching red light.

 **[INTRUDER ALERT]**

 **[INTRUDER ALERT]**

The booming sound makes him uncomfortable that his hands started to tremble, the said hands were holding pieces of electric wires with little sparks still flying out.

 **How come I forgot about this?!**

 **The Killing Game isn't starting yet!**

 **Should I... give up?**

The robot stared at the cables that he recently has torn, then he looked around the Hangar.

Ki-Bo is not entirely sure whether he should be proud or ashamed of the mess he made, particularly the cluttered pieces of broken metal shards, scattered nuts, bolts, along with ammunition, unplugged tubes, and more ripped wires that came from the EXISALS OF ALL THINGS.

If there is something he had to confess, he never thought of going this far in dismantling the Exisals several loops ago. All he did was to study the anatomy of the defense vehicle so he could at least use it against Monokuma but he wasn't able to, Tsumugi and Team Danganronpa had their ways to prohibit Ki-Bo in accessing the Exisals for all of the thirty time loops he had been. Right now, looks like the best way he could do is to destroy it. He's not that sure of how capable they are now that he arrived the Hangar early on his own.

Looks like the result had come to trigger the alarm. Ki-Bo is already panicking from the inside because he doesn't know when or where he activated the alarm, he was very careful enough not to do anything stupid!

Stressed on the unanticipated outcome, the self-learning boy bit his lip, "What now...? What am I supposed to do...?"

When he is still holding the wires he remembered on what he was about to commit before the alarm, and the answer lies from the hydraulic press he's been taking a glance to.

 **|Loop 0 - The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Danganronpa History|**

 _Shuichi couldn't hide his fear when Ki-Bo set himself at the bottom of the hydraulic press. Seriously, what on earth is the robot doing himself?!_

 _"Shuichi, please!" Ki-Bo's voice snapped the dazed detective a bit._

 _Though, Shuichi still questions on the robot's commands, "Please, what?!"_

 _Seeing that his human companion confused on what he wanted, the Ultimate Robot glanced at the Safety Notice for further clarifications._

 _"If a press comes to a stop when it detects a person, what will happen if it detects me? Let's find out!"_

 _Instead of being excited, Shuichi had his eyes open wide at Ki-Bo's absurdity._

 **|Loop 0 - The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Danganronpa History|**

Ki-Bo just realized that not only he dismantled the Exisals, but he also stripped the circuits of the hydraulic press' control panel.

Now he is more ashamed of the mess he made! This is where Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader, gruesomely died!

Forget it! He went this far! So he couldn't stop now with just a mere security alarm!

As he began tying up the other ends of the electric lines, the robot couldn't help but take a peek on the inactive machine. He couldn't even help but to think about the splattered blood staining the humongous murder weapon.

Despite being teased by the liar for being a robot, he just couldn't help at what his last wishes were before performing the almost unsolvable murder with the help of the Luminary of the Stars. He knows Kokichi wasn't lying about his wish. The supreme leader admitted it, he was scared. Scared enough to make a lie towards everyone including himself to end the good-for-nothing killing game. Ki-Bo witnessed it with his own eyes after all.

 **|Loop 12|**

 _His metallic hand touched the cold, pink liquid that heavily blotched the parts of the hydraulic press. The robot wasn't so sure if he should be glad he didn't have to know what Kokichi's corpse would look like since Kaito had already disabled any controls that would lift the press again. Perhaps this is for the best if they wanted Kokichi's plan to work._

 _But still... Kokichi is dead._

 _Crushed by the press in front of their eyes, even without any warning on how disgusting it would feel afterward._

 _Ki-Bo couldn't even move from his spot once it's over. It's too bad when he wasn't able to finish his written speech for the supreme leader, only to witness Maki assaulting him._

 _It's that cursed Flashback Light's fault! Team Danganronpa wanted this to happen just because Kokichi's in their way of the show! And he was SO CLOSE to save them all..._

 _"Ki-Bo," Kaito's voice snapped the robot out of his trance and faced the recovered Astronaut when he was able to drink the antidote._

 _"Kaito," Ki-Bo stood up already lost the motivation to look at Kokichi's remains "Are you... still continuing Kokichi's plan? Because regardless of what you'll do... you still die."_

 _The man with the goatee peered at the thick script and the other documents related to the proposed plan. The Luminary of the Stars could only nod, but still hiding his stubbornness on what he's about to do. Ki-Bo couldn't agree more on the risks if it wasn't for Maki, though._

 _"Of course, I am!"_

 _When he looked at Kaito again, the Human had his smile beaming over his face, which shocks the Ultimate Hope. Then again, he shouldn't be surprised because it's inevitable now._

 **|Loop 12|**

"Okay... There we go!" Ki-Bo finished combining the wires. He doesn't bother putting back the control panel now that he's made a mess in the whole Hangar anyway.

He carefully stepped down the stairs and walked towards the inactive hydraulic press, still careful not to step any shards, bullets, or wires. The robotic juvenile backed up when he hears a soft humming sound that came from the press itself, the robot could only nod at his small achievement.

 **Just little time left.**

Assuring that he'll have enough time to finish the job and disregarding any noise that would only distract him in his plans. He didn't even bother to care if the security alarm went silenced for unknown reasons! It's now to finish what he was working on.

Whatever the heck he's doing, that is...

Ki-Bo took a deep breath, even if he's an artificial being that doesn't need oxygen to survive, and prepared himself to take a single step onto the hydraulic press' platform -

"What. Have. You. **DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE?!** "

 **That voice! It can't be -**

The scared robot slowly turned his mechanical head to notice that the metal gate is wide open. What's worse is that not just the fifteen students that he ran away from having found the place but also the rest of the Monokuma family, with the head being very, VERY FURIOUS on what Ki-Bo did.

Evidenced on some of the surprised faces from his classmates, it's pretty clear that he's in BIG trouble.

Kaede had her mouth closed by her clasped hands while Miu's face showed legitimate disappointment. That's it, she's just really disappointed.

"Wait a minute," Ryoma muttered, "aren't those the Exisals?"

Kaito nodded, "Yeah... But how did it get here?"

"More importantly, how on earth was he able to decimate them?" Korekiyo added.

Rantaro quickly takes many glances of the new location that Monokuma has navigated to everyone. Seeing the dismantled Exisals remained disabled while the seemingly looking mess that the 'sixteenth student' made would come from the metal giant.

The Ultimate Supreme Leader couldn't help but hold his laughter. He has never seen a smart plan created by having the most dangerous weapons, that would have killed the whole class in just a snap, ended up becoming a mess just to flip Monokuma off. It's like a prank gone horribly right and it's hilarious. To be honest, he is a bit impressed if only the perpetrator wasn't a hunk of junk.

Meanwhile, the Monokuma Cubs are also angry just like their father.

"You!" Monotaro unsheathed his shurikens, "How dare you destroyed our Exials?!"

"Dat idiot doesn't know how much those tings cost!" Monosuke shook his fist towards the sixteenth student.

Monophanie bitterly stomped her foot on the floor, "That is our Daddy's hard work! He gave it to us as a gift, you... you MONSTER!"

Ki-Bo completely faced everyone in complete shock.

Everyone...

Everyone went against him AGAIN?!

For goodness sakes! How many times since every single classmate of his intended to work together in ending his life?!

Oh dear, he would rather not reminisce the last time loop… So many bad memories turned into nightmares...

 **No!**

 **I'm not going to end up like what happened the last time!**

Monokuma pointed his paw at Ki-Bo with his red eye glowed in ferocity, "You, young man, had gone far enough to MY SCHOOL and MY KILLING GAME! And now, I am going to punish you for violating the school property!"

"ALRIGHT! HE IS GOING TO BE BUSTEEEED~!" Monokid roughly strums his electric guitar as he is excited for his Father's punishment towards the Rulebreaker.

 **I won't let them hurt me...**

 **Them...?**

Unbeknownst to the students and the bears, Ki-Bo could hear the faint creaking coming from the piston of the hydraulic press going louder. He was almost close to finishing what he's doing until they came along. The robot knew he couldn't continue his plan, the only logical solution he could think of is to run. AGAIN.

 **But I can't run away forever...**

When the 'sixteenth student' is distracted by either his guilt or truly surrendering, it was Monokuma's chance to end the troublemaker's menace. There can only be one bad guy in the Killing Game and that will be the Headmaster of the Academy himself!

Imagining as a muscular ursine, the black and white bear charged at the student at full speed. The Cubs, sans the silent Monodam, were cheering from the background. However, the rest of the fifteen could only stand and watch the show...

"TASTE MY WRATH, RULEBREAKER!"

At the same time where the piston drops at a significant speed, and everything went slow... for Kaede.

Because of her classmates were frightened to see the unknown machine turned on by itself, she didn't notice the 'sixteenth student' managed to DODGE Monokuma without the headmaster learning... he was being lured to a death trap.

Monokuma was too fast and too angry that he didn't realize the hydraulic press is activated. So when the 'sixteenth student' evaded Monokuma's grasp, the bear instead fell because of the force he exerted before.

And the least everyone including the 'sixteenth student' has expected it, the piston slammed onto the platform... to where Monokuma had landed.

 _CRASH!_

 _BOOM!_

The 'sixteenth student', however, escaped everyone again and ran away from the Hangar. But the students and the Monokuma Cubs weren't able to even speak or move from what they have just witnessed.

From the already created mess, there is more 'junk' being piled up. When the dust had settled, there were additional broken pieces of robotic parts flew almost everywhere. The mentioned robotic parts that were once belonged to Monokuma.

"EEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Monophanie's scream has broken everyone's frozen reactions.

The rest of the Monokuma Cubs scuttled towards any of their father's remains in desperation.

Monotaro shrieks as he tried to process what on earth has happened, "F-Father?! WHAT HAPPENED TO FATHER?!"

"Daddy got turned into a scrap metal!" Monophanie concluded before spewing pink liquid from her mouth.

While gripping Monokuma's charred and severed arm, Monosuke asked his siblings "Please tell me dis is de only model of Pops..."

"IT IS THE ONLY MODEL!" Monokid shook his yellow-clad brother out of panic. Good thing he didn't hurt Monodam this time around.

Upon seeing the hysterical faces of the Cubs, the students should be happy that the headmaster is gone, but they knew that they shouldn't celebrate early. Rantaro could only grit his teeth, silently infuriated on the fact that his one chance of meeting the Mastermind has been blown to bits. The fact that his classmates didn't have the same thought also vexes him.

Tsumugi, meanwhile, learned something that is not right in the aftermath.

"Guys?" The cosplayer's call makes her classmates face towards her, "W-where is he?!"

Now that she mentioned that, where is the 'sixteenth student'? They must have been too focused on Monokuma getting crushed that they didn't realize he escaped them once again.

.

.

.

However, the shell-shocked Angie Yonaga was able to catch sight of the 'sixteenth student'. Silently walking a few meters away from the others, the traumatized oracle lets her Atua control her legs until she has the strength to walk on her own. If scarier happenings appear more then she might explode.

Ever since Monokuma spilled the truth of the Outside World, her own body couldn't even respond to her commands. Not even speak or move. And the thought of being frozen like a statue while staring at the once peaceful world without looking away or closing her eyes... horrifies her.

Just like the other students, her loved ones are also living there. Or rather, WERE. They're gone. Her friends, her family, her followers... her people are gone by the disaster. When learning that scary truth she could only call out that one 'person' she thinks is still out there somewhere, believing He is alive; Atua.

Yes, that great and powerful Atua who is always there when she needed the most. The one who chose her as the messenger of the Gods. The one who gave her the power to become the Ultimate Artist she is recognized.

 _~Yes.~_

 _~Yes, He is here. And He's not dead...~_

 _~I really am blessed, am I not?~_

 _~I am not alone and I will never be alone.~_

Coming to realize that she zoned out again, Angie was about to return to her classmates until saw a small sight of HIM leaning against the wall, presumably taking a rest from all the running.

The 'sixteenth student'. Cold, exhausted, and alone. How dare he complained about his troubled state when he's the one started the whole ruckus in the first place? That student should be thankful he's still alive. If he wanted to run away from them he should have left the school and die in the Outside World instead.

Seeing his tired state caused her hands to curl into a fist.

"You..."

Hearing the familiar voice Ki-Bo saw this coming, but he didn't expect ANGIE of all people to catch him off guard. His 'camera lens' reflected Angie's dull and dead eyes, it's not the cheery Ultimate Artist he knows about.

"Angie... Angie, I can explain," The robot raised his hands in front of the Artist. Seeing her 'off-character' state still worries him despite witnessing her breakdowns several loops ago.

However, the young girl is unfazed and began to strut towards Ki-Bo with a lifted finger directly pointed at him, "You... You... _You_... Y̷̰͍̤͚͇̍̓o̸̢̘̦͉͒͌̽u̸̞͒ͅ.̴͖͕̪̼̝̎̂̀.̷̨̗͕͎̐̀̂͑͝.̷̧͖͆͐ "

 **What have I done to her?!**

"THERE HE IS!"

The worse comes to worst when Tsumugi saw him and Angie. Not only that, she had the students following her!

Ugh! It just HAD to happen, huh? Good thing the Monokuma Cubs were absent, but still.

Without any second to talk, Ki-Bo dashes through the maze-like hallway as fast as he can. Leaving the quiet Angie behind, not knowing that she sent him a deadly stare.

.

.

.

"He's getting away!" Kaito grunted in frustration.

"At this rate, we will never be able to see him again." Kirumi agrees with the Astronaut while also worried about the consequences.

Then again, for some, it fascinates them that the 'sixteenth student' was able to run fast and can only take a break in just a second. But can't that boy at least stop running for five minutes? His classmates were still humans, after all. More precisely, the last of all humanity.

Tsumugi turned to her 'Fearless Leader', "What's your plan, Kaede? We tried talking, and then cornering him..."

"But he's just keeping on running," Himiko finished the cosplayer's thoughts, "It's becoming a big pain if we kept on chasing him."

Kaede slows her pace and had her eyes on the entomologist, the astronaut, the maid, and the child caregiver. However, her expression is not as upbeat as it seems. To her admission, she is also getting impatient with her classmate making them going around in circles, and the part where they saw the Outside World already ruins her mood. Not to mention, Monokuma got crushed by the hydraulic press so they need to stop the 'sixteenth student' from pushing them away before more damages he could cause.

 _As a matter of fact, I don't want to push everyone further..._

The pianist gave her classmates a distressing look. And by the facial response from them, it's not going to be pretty.

* * *

After rewiring many circuits for the umpteenth time, Ki-Bo managed to push the heavy metal hatch open and crawled out even with the little gap. The robot assured that the students will have a hard time opening the passageway, Gonta might even struggle in spreading the gap since it's still mechanically controlled by electricity. However that doesn't mean he was bragging his plans, it was more like a little... 'Hope' he had to cling on to for a while.

* * *

"Alright, guys! Remember the plan." Kaede prompted her classmates who had themselves ready for anything. They have to use this amount of time to get the 'sixteenth student' in their hands before Monokuma spring up again.

Kaito and Tenko answered with a thumbs up. Meanwhile, Korekiyo, Kirumi, and Miu are huddled together like they are up to something.

Even they're tired and about to faint, the students were actually anticipated for Kaede's plan. If they were able to succeed, they can finally rest.

Though, not all were excited to do it. Especially for Miu...

"Yeah, sure. Everyone's soooo pumped up like heck," Miu sarcastically muttered, "But if I have to ask, WHY ME?"

Kaede shrugged, "Well, you're the person who invents stuff so it's pretty obvious that we need you to make something for the plan."

"No! I mean why did you have to choose my precious belts for this?" The inventor rephrased her question showing that she wasn't wearing any of her belts, now only wearing her usual uniform, although her socks were slowly dropping from the lack of any support. "The creeper's rope is much stronger than mine."

"But heavier," Korekiyo reprimand "If we try to throw our trap towards the 'sixteenth student', it won't be fast enough to stop his legs."

Kirumi nodded in agreement, "And he will get injured because of the weight placed on the ends."

The inventor could only roll her eyes as she finishes the so-called 'gag weapon' considering it was only built by some of the Exisal parts and her BELT of all things. She wonders why she had to do that job since that thing could be built by anyone. After completing the gag weapon, she proceeds in fixing the big door that the 'sixteenth student' imprudently rewired.

Meanwhile, the rest were discussing the plan for clarifications.

"So, we need someone strong and fast enough to throw the weapon to him," Tsumugi asked out loud "Which one of us can do that?"

Shuichi ponders the cosplayer's question, "Kaito and Tenko had their jobs assigned if the 'sixteenth student' attempts to use physical combat. Gonta has to open the door, so only a few of us can get out of this room to go after him."

"Maki and I will go," Ryoma suggested, "If Maki can't reach him, then I will be the backup."

Both Tsumugi and Shuichi looked at each other in question.

Out of worry, Tsumugi asks "A-Are you sure, Ryoma? Wouldn't that make you feel uncomfortable to use your - "

The 'former' tennis pro huffs, "It's not for the sake of talent. But I will be willing to use my life just to finish the job."

"And don't worry, I've dealt with kids who run faster than any adults," Maki added while releasing small air out from her lips

"You know what, Kaede?" Kokichi tapped the floor with slight glee, "I love this plan! I'm excited to be a part of it!"

The talentless student's face is filled with concern, "You're staying here, Kokichi. Just so you know they're just going to CAPTURE him, not HURT him."

Once she was able to fix the wires, Miu calls out everyone. "Alright, Crackheads. Here's the drill. Once your Gorgeous Girl Genius connects the last wires, the door will unlock but it won't be fast enough to open by itself. So, Gonta will have to push them so there will be a bigger gap for any of us will insert ourselves with."

"Maki will come out first with the trap Miu built, but Ryoma will be next if anything goes wrong." Kirumi follows the process.

Korekiyo readies the red-colored rope that he unknowingly kept with him, "Kaito and Tenko will corner the student. The chances of using physical force are inevitable."

Himiko raised her hand, "I'll sit this one out. I'm too tired to run..."

"Actually, most of us can't leave just yet," Tsumugi muttered while glancing at the quiet Angie. She wondered what on earth happened to the artist...

The time is now. The students who volunteered are waiting outside of the gigantic door, with Maki being the first one to go while gripping the trap weapon tight. Upon Kaede's signal, Miu joined the two wires together. The connection released a small spark as the door's lock is slowly released. Of course, they don't have to wait.

"Gonta, do it!"

The entomologist nodded at Kaede's command and used his bare hands to push both sides of the door. Seeing how Gonta is struggling when splitting the door, it shows that lifting a heavy manhole and opening an even heavier door is different for him.

Not wanting for Gonta to strain himself any longer, Maki dashed towards the slightly open door that fits her perfectly to go through.

* * *

 **\/** _ **Everything is a LiE**_ **\/**

 _ **\- Tetsuya Idabashi**_

Ki-Bo is not entirely sure whether or not the writings on the rock slab seems true. Or rather, it makes perfect sense since he's stuck in a television show for too long. Approximately for thirty-one loops and he is forced to be the Audience Surrogate along with being their disgusting cameraman, he's now in conflict to believe which ones were true or not.

Even the writer's surname is insulting.

Idabashi. How immoral! How revolting! How STUPID this show can be?!

Decided to ignore the hateful message, the robot brisked his way towards the school. However, the ringing sound starts to bother him to find the source of the noise.

To Ki-Bo's shock, Maki is approaching him close to lightspeed?!

 **HOW THE HECK DID SHE GET OUT?!**

The young boy was about to leave when the horrible memories of the Ultimate Assassin flashed to his mind.

 _Those awful, AWFUL memories of her pink eyes and her bloodied state..._

He just doesn't want to see her now! He will not suffer the same fate as the last time.

Immediately, he evaded Maki when the girl was about to grab him. And since she has the physical prowess, the hidden assassin continues to chase him without breaking a sweat. She also had her hands a strange object that would seem heavy if she wasn't showing any difficulties swinging the thing above her head. What on earth is she doing?

He quickly found out when she threw her weapon not directly to him, but she was targeting his legs. Ki-Bo is fortunate enough to jump and avoid getting any of his legs to get tangled up by the trap. He guessed it must have been Miu's doing upon seeing the familiar accessories used. Unfortunately, when one of his legs landed on the ground, the robot felt a force that trips him off balance.

Ki-Bo learned Ryoma's presence considering the Ultimate Tennis Pro became the one who can pass through the gap and is also fast enough to catch up with him. He didn't expect to be the one who uses a backup trap similar to Maki's.

The robot quickly untangled the belt lose, he's still impressed that it succeed when it worked but failed to completely catch him at the precise moment. Ki-Bo discarded the trap weapon with ease but the boy didn't notice he entrapped Maki while on the run.

"Shoot!" He could hear the child caregiver-slash-assassin's rage.

It's an accident! Ki-Bo should be thankful that Ryoma stopped and helped free Maki from the trap. Regrettably, the Tennis Pro is not pleased with what he unconsciously committed. Not only that, it seems what he did to Maki ticked Kaito and Tenko off.

"That little brat!"

"Let's teach that one a lesson, fellow Degenerate!"

From Ki-Bo's memory banks, Tenko and Kaito are one of the students that not only are fast enough to run but also capable of throwing a punch to their opponent. Looks like not only he has to outrun and outsmart them, but he also has to outfight them despite his physical witness. Great.

The robot's feet glided on the ground that slows his speed. Meanwhile, his mind began to search any possible way to either dodge or knock Kaito and Tenko out without hurting them. The problem is that he's a robot, a being made of metal and other things. So...

Kaito caught up with Ki-Bo as he raised his fist above his head, "TAKE THIS!"

The robot uses his whole momentum in lifting his leg as high as he can, not only preventing the space trainee's punch from reaching its target but create a suitable distance from himself and the attacker, performing a merciful head kick. Ki-Bo performed another kick that would knock the astronaut out if he didn't dodge.

"Woah!" Kaito balanced himself to process what the 'sixteenth student' has done to him. The man looked at his hand, the one that he uses to attack the student, and noticed that there is a small dry scratch on his little bruised skin. Thankfully it's not fatal to cause any wounds or fractures but it still hurt, like he's been lightly hit with a padded metal pipe. "That kid can FIGHT?!" he asked himself out loud.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Kaito! I'm -" Ki-Bo just yelled out the trainee's name in the open which shocks Kaito.

"Kaito?" The Luminary of the Stars repeated what the student called him "Wait, you know my name?!"

The robot felt a pang inside his systems. He must have forgotten both of them never introduced themselves yet. It's too late to even stop himself to talk more.

Ki-Bo tried to apologize, "I - I..."

But he saw Tenko shoved Kaito to the side and began yelling at the failed attacker, "Ugh! You Degenerate males weren't even that good enough to take him down!"

Right, she's a Neo-Aikido Practitioner. Ki-Bo sometimes feared Tenko because of her defense mechanisms reacted a lot on impulse, so getting near her is like facing a lion one on one. She's unpredictable, she never attacks her opponent first after all. The female martial artist just waited for the right moment to turn the table against the enemy. It became different whenever he came to her in the other loops before this. It is unbelievable when Tenko actually threw a PUNCH at Shuichi since Loop 14! It's hard to figure her out in battle, she either stands still or it's all for nothing. The solitary weakness that the aikido master has is that she doesn't know how and when to stop and has low pain tolerance. So the logical way to stop her is to STOP her, whatever means necessary.

"HIIIIYYYAAAAAHHHH!" She's coming towards Ki-Bo fast! She has her hands ready to defeat the sixteenth student once and for all.

Once she thrusts her hand, the robot lashed his wrist, effectively blocked the startled Tenko's assault. While the fighter's failed attack is still engaged, Ki-Bo sidestepped to prevent himself from receiving a counterattack and then he GRABBED the arm that was supposed to hit the target. At this point, Tenko should have thrown the degenerate off, but the speed on how the 'sixteenth student' avoided her punch upsettingly mystifies her. If he is her classmate, then what kind of Ultimate is he?

After weighing Tenko down, Ki-Bo followed by striking her arm.

"Oof!" Tenko did not foresee how powerful and painful it was. Unfortunately, neither does Ki-Bo when he kicked Kaito.

When she saw the 'sixteenth student' is about to hit her again, she hastily tried to come up with a counter. But Tenko also knew that it was too late when she realized her neck is exposed to her white-haired classmate. And that's when she unknowingly froze...

 _"At last, at last, at long last..."_

Suddenly, her fingers twitched and her heart starts to beat fast.

 _"Will the guard dog run far away?"_

She looked at the 'sixteenth student', the calm blue eyes give an unsettling feeling that gave her a chill on her spine. Something is not right in her and she knows it! But why can't she move or do anything?! Why can't she scream at her classmate to stop him?! And why... is her nape cold all of a sudden?

 _"Or did it eat the little girl?"_

Tenko saw his arm brought down. Even though she's a tough girl, she still couldn't help but flinch. She closed her eyes and prepared for the nerve chop to knock her out.

But it didn't happen.

The cold sensation in her nape diminishes as she opened her eyes to check what happened to her. The young girl's eyes met with the 'sixteenth student's eyes that has fear replaced his calm look. It's like he's seen a ghost all of a sudden.

Not only that but Tenko noticed his trembling arm was inches close to her cheeks, she could also hear the metal rattling in it.

Ki-Bo, on the other hand, is visibly terrified of what he's about to do. The robot was so close in knocking Tenko out until he saw where his attack is going to strike, even the girl is shown to be perturbed during their fight.

"What have I done?" Ki-Bo started to lose his grip on Tenko's arm "Tenko, I never wanted this to happen..."

Her brows furrowed when he called her out by her name.

Tenko took a few steps back while her other hand unconsciously touched her neck, probably to check any injuries.

"You," She spoke softly, not having any tone of anger in her voice "My name. How do you know my name is Tenko?"

Darn it, he did the same mistake again! What is he going to do? What will he say? How is he gonna explain that he's a good-for-nothing Time Traveler who went back from the past thirty times?! Oh wait, HE CAN'T!

Maki, Ryoma, and Kaito arrived with concern to the lifeless Tenko, even the pint-sized student's question has left the girl giving him a lazy nod. All of them could only look at Ki-Bo as the robot slowly backed away from his classmates. They probably saw how he almost struck Tenko down and Kaito probably told Maki and Ryoma about his situation too. The robot could have explained that it was for self-defense. After all, they attacked him first without even giving him a chance to talk. Then again, he did hurt Maki first... but she was the one who threw the trap... but Ryoma also did that as payback - He is so confused right now.

Also, it's unusual that his classmates kept on staring at him without making a move. Not a step or a punch. They're just standing there.

 **Why aren't they doing anything?**

 **What's going on?**

Ki-Bo's suspicion is answered when he felt a warm weight behind his back, as well as the familiar voice that dreads him.

"Surrender."

Kiyo is right behind him.

The robot's instincts led him to punch the 'serial killer' from behind. But Korekiyo dodged the punch and appears behind Ki-Bo again, and the 'sixteenth student' attempted the same attack that the Ultimate Anthropologist evaded from.

Now how did Kiyo got out this time?

No, how on earth did he **get himself fall** into their trap?!

The least he expects it, he felt the heavyweight tripping him. He didn't see how fast Maki and Ryoma threw the trap weapon to his legs especially they each equipped one, led Ki-Bo to become immobile.

And just as he's about to hit the ground, there's a glint of red hurled towards him. There were so many that he what was thrown and he couldn't count how many of them until he realized those red things were ropes.

Everything makes sense now.

One by one, the ropes strapped on Ki-Bo's body. Arms, wrists, his waist, even his neck got caught by the rope. Thank goodness he's a robot or he'll get choked to death from strangulation. He soon experienced the hard tug of the ropes, leaving the robot in a restricted position that he couldn't move an inch. And because of his neck getting tied up, he was forced to bend his back. Thus, facing the person who thinks binding their rope on his neck was a good idea.

And the idiot hunter is none other than the Ultimate Detective himself, who somehow learned his mistake a little too late.

Even though Ki-Bo can see the Detective upside down, the thought of Shuichi committed this... still hurts him.

The robot shifted his eyes to see his other classmates pulling the ropes, including Tsumugi, Maki, and Himiko.

 **Them.**

 **Why did it have to be them?**

Being the last person to escape at the Cyber Courtyard along with Gonta, Kaede arrived to see the volunteers present safe and sound while the others were reliable enough to make sure the sixteenth student will stay in one place.

Gonta pointed out his classmates' whereabouts, "Friends! Over there, Kaede!"

"Guys!" She called out her friends.

Tenko turned around and smiled, "We did it, Kaede! We got him!"

"Are you alright?" The pianist asked when she noticed how exhausted they were.

Kaito scratched his head with his slightly injured hand, "Just some little scratches here and there. Never thought he can actually fight."

"He was even faster than I am," Ryoma agreed.

"Sorry," Gonta apologizes "Not there to help others."

Maki brushes off the remaining dust in her skirt, "Just never mind about that, Gonta. What matters now is that Kaede's plan is a success."

"Yeah!" Miu howled while not letting go of her rope "This guy totally fell for it!"

 **They... worked together?**

Kokichi laughs, "See, Himiko? I told you this plan would work!"

"What?!" Himiko yelped as both the Magician and the Supreme Leader had to be together to restrain the 'sixteenth student' despite their weak bodyweight. "You're the one who said it won't!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah~?"

"Yeah~!"

"OH YEAH?"

"YEAH!"

Even though his hands were dripping in sweat when he was holding his rope, Rantaro could only smile while jokingly roll his eyes, "Well, it's all thanks for Kaede that we were able to catch him."

"I agree," Kirumi nods behind Rantaro "I am very impressed on how you led a number of people to enact this cooperative strategy."

"No matter how big or little our contribution, you see it as an important part of the plan," Korekiyo stated his observation.

Tsumugi smiles while giving full support of her rope along with Angie, "You even believed in us even though we said we couldn't. That's so sweet of you, Kaede!"

"Kaede very good leader!" Gonta beamed from ear to ear, seeing how he helped people by opening the big metal door.

Hearing those compliments makes the 'Fearless Leader' flush in red. Still, she doesn't forget that they were in a Killing Game. But seeing how her classmates were worried and anxious, she wants to cheer them up and cheer them on as much as she can. Too bad she couldn't find a piano to play music with, yet she always has a plan to make everyone happy. Considering the situation they have right now, it is Kaede's job to unite her classmates.

She could only give a small smile, "You know, I couldn't have done this if it wasn't for you. All of you."

Shuichi looked at Kaede in the distance while listening to her speech.

"All of us worked together. We know what we're good at and we used that as our strength. And even though we're weak, even though we're alone, we never give up. Because if we did, then we're just giving the Mastermind what they want," Her amethyst eyes are glittering with feisty optimism that thinking about the truth of the Outside World is just bad news, "Killing Game or not, I will not let that happen to us! Not ever!"

 **Kaede...**

 **I miss your voice so much.**

Ki-Bo couldn't stop staring at Shuichi, and that's not because of having his neck pulled by the detective. Shuichi, on the other hand, is starting to feel uncomfortable with his troublesome classmate looking like that. Maybe he should have thrown the rope early, it'll be also his fault if the sixteenth student ended up choking to death but he couldn't let the white-haired boy run away again.

And so, the two had their eyes on each other.

The Ultimate Detective is starting to get tired of playing 'Staring Contest'. But there is something within his mind that doesn't him look away.

Those blue eyes... mesmerizing but why are they hypnotizing at the same time? He just doesn't get why the 'sixteenth student' intrigues him. They both meet each other for the first time, they always 'ran' each other, and just passed by in the end. Aside from the 'sixteenth student's eyes, the strange physique is more acquaint unlike the other quirky-looking classmates of his. In fact...

It's like he's seen that person before.

No. That's not possible. It's probably just his imagination.

From that conclusion, Shuichi now has the strength to look away from the mysterious boy.

* * *

 _"Maybe it's just my imagination, but..._

 _have we met before?"_

 _\- Chihiro Fujisaki (Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc)_

* * *

Since Shuichi still has his cap on, Ki-Bo had to watch the detective block his eyesight using the cap's brim. The former _Danganronpa_ fanatic doesn't know how it pains Ki-Bo in doing such action.

Tsumugi wrote Shuichi as the weak Ultimate Detective who develops into a stronger character by having him forcefully watch his friends die one by one. That dastard cosplayer killed Rantaro and framed Kaede! That's how far she would go just to have the show continue. All for her love for _Danganronpa_. No matter how many loops he had to go back, he will never forget what Tsumugi had done to everyone including Shuichi.

It's the reason why he can't lose Hope. He's the Ultimate Hope, he can't leave his friends to suffer at the Mastermind's hands.

But why?

 **Why is he looking away... from me?**

Shuichi's grip on the rope is getting tighter.

 **Shuichi, look at me!**

For some reason, his whole body started to tremble and his vision started to 'glitch'.

When are his classmates going to stop smiling like nothing happened? What are they going to do to him? How is he going to restart the loop? Why aren't they letting go?

...Why aren't they letting go?

The ropes. They're starting to etch through his skin.

But Ki-Bo is a robot, any hunk of junk can't feel pain! But... he could have sworn the wires in this body start to break.

It's so, SO uncomfortable to be restrained like this!

They need to let go. They HAVE to let go!

No, no, no! He doesn't want to be trapped like this! Not again!

Not like the last time! And the other time... and the other time... and the other time -

Ki-Bo wants to be free! He wants to move again on his own will. He wants to speak whatever his mind pleases to be. He wants to feel like how Humans feel in their hearts.

SO WHY AREN'T THEY LETTING GO?!

Why is he having a hard time hearing?

Now his body is not only trembling but also feeling heavy...

He's not malfunctioning, is he?

 **|Loop 30|**

 _His vision regained focus once more, not surrendering to Despair, he pushed the floor to gain balance. But by the time he went up to his knees, both of his arms were grabbed and were tugged from behind. When he looked at the back, he saw Maki and Himiko were subduing him by pulling his arms so he wouldn't move and run away anymore._

 _"Himiko?! Maki?! What are you doing?! Let go! Let me go! Please!" He cried as he tried to pull his arms away, but no avail. Suddenly, a hand touched his synthetic hair and was yanked painfully, he knew that Shuichi could have done this to him._

 _He couldn't move. Three of his remaining friends turned against him for no reason, and now they restrained him with no chance of escaping anymore. Three pairs of radiant pink eyes were staring at him, it was intense enough to dig them deep into his data._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Despite his efforts to escape the chains that were chasing him, its shackles were able to bind his legs, arms, waist, feet, and wrists altogether. Ki-Bo then felt a strong pull that dragged him towards the dark hatch, his arms even tried to reach out even though he knew it's futile now that the three pairs of pink eyes and one pair of blue eyes were staring below him as the darkness had finally swallowed him._

 _He felt like he was falling to a deep realm until the hard impact from the ground stops him from falling, and it was painful too. Just as he got the sense to rise, the chains were restraining him from even moving. His arms were bound from the sides while his feet were bound together, almost looked like as if he was literally crucified on the ground._

 **|Loop 30|**

When the capturers were distracted in their conversation, they suddenly begin to feel their ropes getting dragged in. To their surprise, the 'sixteenth student' is strong enough to pull the ropes that were held by more than two people.

Rantaro is the first to notice the roped classmate of his, "Shoot! He's still fighting!"

The young man's cries now have everyone's attention as they witness the 'sixteenth student's struggling out from his binds.

Shuichi, being the person who doesn't have someone to anchor the ropes, snapped his sight to the captured. And the sight is agitating to see, especially if the detective puts himself in the 'sixteenth student's shoes, he'll be sure to feel what his classmate is distressing right now.

When the capped teenager takes a look at the white-haired boy, all he could describe from the imprisoned is trepidation. It is clear that something is wrong with the 'sixteenth student'.

"Something... Something is wrong with him!" Shuichi calls out.

Kaito cracks his knuckles, "Coming back for more, huh?"

"Let's get ready then," Maki immediately replied.

The previous volunteers stood their stance just in case of retaliation.

Gonta stood in front of Kaede, "Stay behind Gonta!"

The leader had no choice but to peek behind her protector. To her concern, she noticed her mysterious classmate not feeling right like what Shuichi said just now. It worries her how the boy kept on running away from them. From her. She just wanted to be his friend, and she just wants to understand why he's acting like that.

"EVERYONE HEAVE!" Miu commanded the rest of the students.

Miu and the others had their heels pinned to the ground as the 'sixteenth student' struggles further. Unfortunately, the more they pulled the ropes the more he is starting to break the binds. Literally.

The pianist released a silent gasp. The ropes were starting to hurt him!

And from her distance, she could have sworn the stowaway trying to say something based on hearing the recognizing voice.

"L-l-let... g-go..."

She heard it.

"Let go?" Kaede probingly repeated.

"...Let go," The sixteenth student hoarsely pleaded to his captors, "P-please... I can't - I can't..."

Korekiyo realized the damage a little too late, "Good grief, he's breaking out!"

"Let go... let go let go let go letgoletgoletgo -" The 'sixteenth student's pleas became louder.

"Oh no," Shuichi could only look at his musical friend, "Kae - "

"I said **LET GO!** "

His ear-splitting scream makes all of the students painfully wince, including Kaede due to her sensitive hearing. The 'sixteenth student' began to lash out against his weakened bonds.

"Let go of me! LET GO OF ME! Why aren't you even listening?! Why can't you just leave me alone?! I don't want to be here anymore!" He cried out. Screaming more and more pleas just to make everything stop.

It seems that the cries made most of his classmates suffer. Shuichi could only describe it as something that could make anyone puke just by listening to it.

Because of the noise, the people who hold the ropes had weakened their grip since they don't want to let the 'sixteenth student' go despite the begging. It didn't take long either that the ropes finally snapped broken. Shuichi and his teammates had fallen to the ground because of their exertion after the ropes broke.

The 'sixteenth student', meanwhile, also falls when he severed the binds. However, he was starting to show exhaustion and is now vulnerable since his legs were still trapped.

Kaede is able to remove her cupped ears when the 'sixteenth student' stopped screaming. The pianist was going to ask if her classmates are okay until she saw him trying to stand up. The 'sixteenth student' is crawling towards the girl! She wasn't sure if she should be happy that he's reaching out or be scared if he might hurt her.

Weakly, the 'sixteenth student' extends his hand to Kaede. His face shows helplessness, almost look like he's about to tear up. He didn't need to speak as Kaede knew just by looking through his innocent eyes. She understands now.

But just as Kaede is about to reach out, Maki suddenly KICKED the 'sixteenth student'. The force is enough for him to get sprawled to the ground.

"Maki!" Kaede calls out, "What are you..."

The custodian ignores Kaede as she menacingly walked to the sixteenth student. Maki is ready to land a punch on him when she noticed him freaking out on her than anyone else.

He holds out his hands in defense, "Maki! please don't - "

"YOU BRAT!" Maki instantly brought her fist to his face. Of course, this shocks everyone including the student who is skilled in martial arts.

Kaito was about to stop Maki from causing more damage to the sixteenth student, but the way the caretaker expresses her anger made him hesitate. Gonta was having a hard time whether he should help the young lady or his runaway classmate.

She continued to chastise, "You think this is all fun and games? Huh? No! You can't just run away from your problems while everyone else is suffering because of you! We're already tired and sick. And there's already a Killing Game we were forced to participate in. Then there's you... mocking us in the shadows. Do you think it will make you happy after what we saw back there? Have you planned this from the start? What do you even want from us? How long are you going to hurt us like this?"

Tsumugi, meanwhile, having to recover from the sickening scream, had her eyes on the 'sixteenth student'. She'll admit that Maki is right. All of what they've been through is because of the 'sixteenth student' doing something stupid, and she's glad that Maki indirectly agreed to her suspicion of their mysterious classmate.

 _She was right all along..._

That coward ruined everything! He hurt Kaede when she was just being nice to him, he forced his classmates to see the Outside World, and the chances to meet the Mastermind is destroyed! It's all his fault!

Unable to handle her rage, her hand unconsciously picked up a nearby object.

When the 'sixteenth student' was about to lift himself again, he didn't notice what Tsumugi has thrown to him, though he guessed it was a stone. The heavy object didn't hit him in the face but his head hurt. And then he saw a tint of blue liquid dripping...

Maki was surprised. And she could have gotten herself hurt when she was about to beat the sixteenth student again, yet the way Tsumugi threw the stone somehow urged her to stop. Miu quickly restrained the blue-haired girl stood up before she could do more damage, but that doesn't stop the cosplayer from spitting words.

"How dare you..." Tsumugi shot an exasperated look, "How dare you treat your friends like this?!"

The 'sixteenth student's eyes filled with terror when he heard her voice.

"Don't you see where we are right now? We're in a Killing Game and you didn't care if you get us all killed!" Tears begin to stain her glasses "The world's been destroyed... and we're the only ones left alive! Rantaro tried his best to talk to Monokuma. We were about to meet the Mastermind and end the Killing Game. BUT WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Kaede just listened to the cries of her classmate. She couldn't help but feel sorry for what her friends had been through. The 'Fearless Leader' was even heartbroken when she also learned the Outside World. Kaede wanted to express her anger also because this isn't fair to her and the other students. They had so much to live for and the truth hurts them so much that everyone went in complete despair for a moment.

She could only stare at her classmates. Gonta, being the gentleman, still does his job to protect Kaede. Kaito, Korekiyo, Ryoma, and Tenko were still staggered on Maki's actions. Kirumi was comforting Kokichi when the latter pukes, much to Himiko's disgust as Rantaro helps the magician to distance themselves from the feud. Angie and Shuichi were frozen still, they couldn't take their eyes off from the argument.

Everything is a mess now.

"Hold your tongue, Tsumugi!" Miu scolded her classmate while being stressed on pulling Tsumugi away from the 'sixteenth student' but the cosplayer is not listening.

"You ruined EVERYTHING!" Tsumugi sobbed as she unsuccessfully wiping the tears on her eyes "I don't even know what's wrong with you! You hurt Kaede... You hurt my friends..."

 _Tsumugi..._

"You should be locked up and die instead."

Hearing those hurtful words, the 'sixteenth student' could only look at Tsumugi's tearful rage poured onto him. He was about to open his mouth until he looked at his classmates around him.

Some people were sick, tired, and hurt. Others were shell-shocked to the point they stood in silence as it is the only thing they could cope as of this moment. Most of them could only stare at him in pity, and yet he was the one who should feel sorry for the suffering he caused.

The way he shook his head says it all. After all that he has done, maybe they were right.

He should disappear.

The 'sixteenth student' crawled away from the students. Escape is the option he could think of.

Looking at the boy who still has the determination to flee ticks the caregiver off.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Maki snatched the 'sixteenth student' by his hair. Of course with the pain he received along with the head wound, he would have screamed again if she didn't pin him to the ground. The long-haired brunette could hear him whimpering when his arms were uncomfortably restrained. As much as Maki wanted to smirk, she could only glare at him.

Upon his observations from the crowd, Rantaro had enough.

Not because the feud is getting out of hand for everyone, but younger children are getting affected as well. Kokichi still feels sick and Himiko is shaking for goodness sakes! The 'Fearless Leader' wasn't doing anything, she probably was still in shock like everyone else. With the Ultimate Magician, he was doing the same thing as Gonta does, standing in front of her being the shield. Himiko couldn't help but grab the hem of the man's striped shirt tight because she couldn't stop shivering while cowering herself behind him.

"Can't... stop… shaking," She stuttered "This is... becoming a... p-p-pain."

The talentless student patted Himiko's head even though her hat covers it, "It's going to be alright."

He gently holds one of the little girl's hands as a sign of comfort. Rantaro looked around the campus to find a place where it's quiet, like the courtyard he saw from afar.

"Come on. Let's take a breather first, okay?"

Himiko nods, "Okay."

Just as the two walked out, Tenko rushed towards them.

"What are you going to do with Himiko, male?!"

Rantaro holds himself from glaring, "I'm taking Himiko somewhere quiet. She's already panicking. One more commotion and she'll pass out."

"Himiko, you should have come to me instead of going with that degenerate male - "

"Tenko, just s-s-stop. Please. I just want to get out for a while," Himiko continued to stutter "And you'll end up... b-b-being t-too nois-s-sy anyways..."

"But - "

"Maki, I think that's enough. He's already down." Kaito's voice cuts her off when he now has the time to at least let the child caregiver go of the 'sixteenth student'.

Maki glared at the astronaut, "I wouldn't take that dare for a second."

"We're all tired," Ryoma chimes in. "I hate to say it 'cause I'm a criminal, but we have to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid again."

Korekiyo nodded, "Not to mention our classmates are not in a healthy state."

"Well, Fearless Leader?" Miu asked before Tsumugi elbowed her in the face "Cut it off, Six Eyes!"

Kaede was a bit startled when the inventor called her. She didn't even notice that she was biting her lip, looks like the stress has gotten into her. They already got the sixteenth student, that's one goal down. Now, they wanted to lock him up? The 'Fearless Leader' wasn't so sure after what he screamed about, but Maki and Tsumugi also got a point. He could at least have consideration for his classmates. The 'sixteenth student' wasn't being fair to her either, always running away when she just wanted to help.

"I..." She stopped herself from speaking.

 _I just wanted to help, that's all._

 _It's like he doesn't even trust me._

 _And that hurts..._

Gonta is concerned, "Kaede? You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just fine," Kaede answered while holding her head "I just need some time to think about this. Sure, he did something bad. But don't you think locking him is too much?"

"Goo muk?!" Kokichi screeched despite his situation almost made him inaudible to hear what he's saying "He... bas da wan wu id goo mu -"

The teenage supreme leader's words were cut when he regurgitates again, Kirumi patted his back to ease the pain.

It became an unfortunate time when Kokichi fainted straightaway.

"Kaede..." Angie suddenly speaks up softly yet ominously "You must remember... The world has ended... We are the last of Humanity... There is no one left but us and Atua… We have to show our classmate about the consequences of his actions."

She shook her head, "The world ended, sure. But the only way we can do now is live together. We can't just hate a classmate because of what he did."

Maki then glares at the pianist, "Are you out of your mind? You were outside. You and Miu almost DIED if it wasn't for Ryoma and Shuichi saving both of you. Are you just going to let this idiot get away with that?"

"I knew it," Miu chided "You were suspicious of him? Hey, if there's someone who is to blame it's the one who started the whole mess -"

"So you're blaming Kaede?! What did she even do?!" Kaito asked the inventor who released the upset Tsumugi.

 _I'm not surprised yet she has a point._

It was the wrong answer thankfully, "I'm not talking about her! It's that stupid bear! He was the one who pushed Kaeidiot to the Outside World, Dum-dums!"

"And..." Shuichi stood up "There is still a possibility of the Killing Game will continue."

Kaede's brow rose, "You mean..."

"I'm not so sure when exactly Monokuma will come back. Even if he's truly destroyed, the Monokuma Kubs might take his place."

"Regardless of the situation, we're still doomed," Ryoma spoke "Either by the Killing Game or the Outside World."

"If that's the case then we can't leave him like this! Who knows what Monokuma will do to him," The 'Fearless Leader' struggles to make the other side agree.

 _We are what's left on the planet now._

 _Murdering another of our kind makes us a hypocrite._

"But what if he's working for Monokuma?" Tsumugi asked out of the blue.

"Pardon the interruption, but what is the basis of your statement?" While everyone else has different suspicions about the sixteenth student, Kirumi still questions the blue-haired lady.

"It's like I said before! He looks like he wanted to be chased!"

And when she said it, the restrained 'sixteenth student' unsuccessfully moved his body. So he was listening to their conversation, and he might object what Tsumugi accused him of.

Miu rolled her eyes, "He was scared! Even I would do something stupid if someone threatened me."

"Tsumugi," Shuichi calls the bespectacled girl, "I'm sorry to say this, but we can't jump into conclusions without any evidence."

"It doesn't matter!" Tsumugi suddenly raises her voice "Don't you forget what he did to us, Shuichi? To Kaede? You want to him get away with that?"

The detective could only look at Kaede, hoping for her to make a decision as soon as possible. Not to mention, Tsumugi is getting intense by the minute. He could see the cosplayer's eyes distorting...

 _What should I do...?_

"Kaede! You're our leader, right? You gotta do something about this!" Tsumugi still pursues her argument as she walked to the Pianist.

"Do what?" Kaede asked with doubts.

"Choose!" The tense cosplayer exclaimed, "Are you willing to forgive that... that THING and let him roam free or do you want him to be punished as payback?"

The 'Fearless Leader' sincerely looked at Tsumugi, "I - I... Tsumugi, I know how angry you were at him. And I'm glad you're considerate of everyone including me, but I don't think it's the right time to point fingers. Others are sick, so we should focus on them first and then we'll think about what we have to do with him."

"But that's so... unfair!" The soft-spoken girl is getting tired of repeating her statement. "Think about it, Kaede! Think about how Monokuma pushed you to the Outside World, how all of us were sad that our families and friends are dead, how we are forced to play the Killing Game. Are you going to be okay with that? And what would happen if the sixteenth student is really working for Monokuma? All of us are going to be killed because of him!"

Kaede stayed silent while thinking through of what Tsumugi pleaded. Of course, she remembered the Outside World, the way Monokuma mocked all of her classmates while telling the whole truth. If Shuichi is right about the Killing Game, then everyone is still in danger no matter where they go.

 _And I was a pushover to my friends, I thought we're going to be free._

 _I thought all of us are going to be friends. Of course, I'm not going to be okay, none of us are!_

 _How did this happen?_

"Please, Kaede! You're our only hope!"

Hope?

When was the last time she heard that word?

It sounds weird but beautiful at the same time.

Kaede looked at Tsumugi, a cosplaying friend of hers who is a bit weird but very kind in return. The pianist even believed in her abilities and led the way, experiencing to feel like a leader is a goal for Tsumugi and understands what she had went through. The thought of seeing the apocalypse is like a slap in the face. No one should suffer the painful and taunting truth of the Outside World.

Afterwards, she looked at the 'sixteenth student'. Chased, beaten, and subdued. How could the innocent boy make such a mess like this? Everything began when Kaede saw him in the school. Her friendly approach to the strange-looking person has turned into a crazy chase of a lifetime. Things went worse after that. Because of what he did to Monokuma, they missed the chance of stopping the Mastermind from continuing the Killing Game.

 _Everything happened because of him._

 _The one that started it all..._

When will Monokuma return? When will the Killing Game start? When will their suffering end?

What would happen if everything is a Lie? Everything they did was part of the Mastermind's plans, didn't it? Is the Mastermind laughing at them in the shadows?

She has to stop this somehow.

Kaede gave her classmates a nod. While others understood her decision especially Tsumugi, some stayed silent but their reactions were mixed.

At the end of the debate, the 'sixteenth student' could only stare at whatever Kaede is going to do with him. He didn't bother against his captor's tight grip, he just let her weight do its thing to him. The young boy just... gave up. Perhaps Maki and Tsumugi's lecture must have gotten into his brain, marking him as the bad guy without any second thoughts.

Before the pianist tells everyone her plan in dealing with the situation, she noticed something that paused her for a while.

From the 'sixteenth student', there was a small glint of light that shines on porcelain skin. At first, she doesn't know what it was until the tiny light falls to the ground and disappeared into millions of tiny drops. The light she saw was water reflected from the moonlight. It's certainly not the blue 'paint' on his head.

Kaede realized the water flowing was actually his tears.

He was crying.

"Kaede?" The long pause concerns Gonta as well as the others, not sure if the 'Fearless Leader' is okay or not.

Tsumugi was about to nudge Kaede but the latter started walking passed her, ignoring the others' call of her name.

"Maki?"

The named character is bewildered when Kaede stood in front of her but stayed silent even though she knows what the other is going to say.

"Maki, you can let go of him now."

The custodian sighed, "What are you going to do with him?"

"I'm just going to talk to him, that's all," Kaede answered.

The way Kaede looked at her is getting hard to read. Just what the heck is she scheming?

"If I let go and he runs, it'll be all your fault." Maki persisted.

Her leader paused before shrugging, "After all that is happening to us, I'm really expecting the worse. But for now... I just don't care."

All of the conscious students were taken aback from her words.

"Everything happened because I wanted to make friends with the 'sixteenth student'," Kaede explained "We chased him wherever he goes. Whenever he locked any doors, we break it open. But I guess we shouldn't open all doors, I know all of us were still shocked about the Outside World. I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" Maki asked as Kaede knelt to her level.

The girl with an ahoge smiled "I started all of this, so I'm taking the responsibility of what happens next."

"But Kaede," Shuichi calls her "None of this isn't your fault!"

"It's fine, don't worry," Kaede reassures without looking back to the detective "Maki, may I?"

Having no choice but to follow the pianist's request, Maki reluctantly released the 'sixteenth student'. The child caregiver took a few steps away from the two but she remains on guard just in case another manhunt occurs.

The young boy has his eyes leaking in tears and remained laying on the ground despite Maki letting him go. He didn't want to cry too loud or everyone will notice and judge him.

"Hello there," The 'sixteenth student' heard the girl's melodic voice as he saw Kaede reaching her hand. Even though he is getting weaker, he accepted Kaede's offer. Though the others are keeping an eye on their 'Fearless Leader' if anything goes wrong.

His weakened state shows more when he couldn't even bring himself to stand, prompting Kaede to help the 'sixteenth student' sit up. The snapped ropes make his body feel heavier than usual, and his legs were still tied up by the trap weapons.

"Are you okay?" Kaede asked him.

But it seems like he didn't hear her, mostly because his attention is directed to the small water droplets falling to his hand.

 **What are these?**

 **Am I leaking?**

 **How is this possible?**

 **I'm not malfunctioning, am I?**

Whatever the reason the frail boy is crying, Kaede is shameful for what she has done even though Shuichi said there was nothing she is at fault for.

Just as her hand touched his face, he immediately flinched and looked away from Kaede. Evidenced by the shaking from his arms, he is still attempting to push her away but is worried of insulting her. Her classmates will not tolerate that kind of behavior also.

"You're hurt."

"Stay away," He softly uttered. Oh, so he finally spoke without being scared?

 _His voice is soft._

 _For some reason, he sounds very... familiar._

"It's okay," Kaede soothes "No one is going to hurt you."

"But I will hurt YOU again!" He snapped, facing Kaede with a panicked look.

She shook her head, "No! No, you're not. We just had a misunderstanding before. You didn't hurt me."

The 'sixteenth student' closed his eyes and hung his head. He questioned himself if she's telling the truth or not, but the boy knows everything that happened is his fault. He struggles not to cry in front of the 'Fearless Leader', not because he's been defeated but for accepting the punishment. He deserves it.

Her hand once again cupped the sixteenth student's face when he wasn't showing any resistance, she gently raises his head so he can look at her.

"I'm your friend," She introduces herself "My name is Kaede Akamatsu."

He blinked, "Fr... F-Friend?"

"You didn't hurt me and I would never hurt you. I'm sorry for dragging you to a mess like this." Kaede apologized.

"Kaede..."

"I know you're scared and I know you don't trust anyone. But I just want you to know that I can help you, all of us can help you," The pianist spoke softly as she wiped the glistening dew in his eyes. However this also makes her tearing up too, "We only got each other now, everyone else in the Outside World is already dead. Our friends, our family... they're all gone."

She continues, "That's why we have to work together so we can end this Killing Game."

Is he aware of the Killing Game? Or maybe he doesn't know what he's getting into when Monokuma comes back. What would the 'sixteenth student' saw that's beyond the school's doors? Will he freak out? Will he kill his classmates? Will he truly work for the mastermind?

Drying her eyes off, it's concluded that the main character doesn't want any of those happen to him or her classmates.

"I'll do whatever I can to make everyone safe, even you. It's a promise and I swear on it. So please!" Kaede grasp both of the boy's hands "Let me help you!"

Her pleas make more of the tears dripping out.

 **Since when did I cry?**

 **Did Miu installed this function to me?**

 **I thought I remembered everything, but why did I forget other things?**

What makes the 'sixteenth student' cry like this? Kaede didn't get to know him properly, that doesn't mean she has the right to judge him over his tears. Kaede pitied her classmate. Surely there must be a reason he's acting like this, he just needs to speak up but she doesn't want to rush him. She doesn't know what to say next or has the remaining energy to decide whether she'll punish the 'sixteenth student' or not. Nevertheless, he needs comfort, it's the first symbol of trust. Because he will need it soon if he needs to survive and fight against the common enemy.

Kaede opens her arms and does the only thing she could think of.

A hug.

The young boy is surprised. After everything he had done to Kaede and her classmates, she still has the will to sympathize with him. His arms remained limp, unsure if the girl is telling truth. The boy is more worried if he's going to hurt Kaede again. He wanted to trust her. She's the only person who is kind enough to reach out and talk. Everyone else was either hostile or just plain don't care. When he saw how the students worked together to overcome any obstacles they faced, they were able to reach the goal.

Deep inside, he wanted to make friends with everyone. Forget the past and start anew. If they reached out, he will do the same.

So why is he crying?

 **|Loop 15|**

 _"Kaede."_

 _Kaede jumped when an unsuspecting student called her from behind, revealing Ki-Bo infiltrating her hiding place. Of course, she wasn't thinking well, she could pick any place just to conceal herself while having the chance to burst into tears. She never thought it would be the Ultimate Robot would found her in a vulnerable state, but she has doubts he can kill her._

 _"Oh, Ki-Bo," She hurriedly rubs her eyes "What brings you here?"_

 _"I apologize for not stopping the argument between you and Miu. I'm pretty sure there is a logical explanation for her behavior like that." Ki-Bo reasons with the Pianist even though the Inventor has said the words that cross everyone's lines._

 _It makes sense. Miu was scared and getting paranoid. Not to mention her frail ego is getting in the way to make that potty-mouthed girl say anything clean for once._

 _Even though he's a robot, Ki-Bo still has the compassion to understand the feelings of others. It envies her a lot._

 _Kaede forces a smile, "Oh that? It's just the usual talk between humans. This is normal, Ki-Bo. I'm fi -"_

 _"Then why are you crying?"_

 _The blonde-haired girl bit her lip, trying her best not to make any of her tears fall._

 _"That kind of body language suspects you of lying," Ki-Bo pressed on, demanding that a robot can have empathy also._

 _She can't forget that the robot has the inability to lie._

 _Kaede lets the dam of tears flow, "I'm just sad."_

 _"Sad from what? Miu? Rantaro?" The robot wonders the possibilities of making Kaede cry._

 _"Everything, Ki-Bo. Everything!" She sobs "I'm sad because everyone had to kill each other. I'm sad because I kept on breaking promises. I'm sad because we didn't deserve to suffer like this. And... and..."_

 _Kaede opens her arms wide and embraced Ki-Bo by surprise._

 _"I'm sad because...I want to be sad, Ki-Bo."_

 _He doesn't want to say anything rude, but he is confused. His artificial arms remained limp, a bit culture-shocked in this type of human affection._

 _"What?"_

 _"What do you mean 'what'?"_

 _"I mean it's not your fault. None of it does," Ki-Bo pressed "You have the right to defend yourself against Miu because you didn't do anything wrong!"_

 _Kaede listens while not letting go of her hug._

 _"I just don't understand, Kaede. A lot of our classmates were in favor of you and I wholeheartedly agree with your statement, everything is okay after that. I'm just confused about why you willingly want to feel miserable."_

 _She couldn't help but laugh. Even though he's a robot, Ki-Bo was able to understand her feelings. Kaede would have asked why, but he would rant about Robophobia_ again.

 _"After everything Monokuma did to our friends, I kept on saying to myself that I can't give in to his plans. I have to be strong for everyone so none of us will kill each other. You know what happens after that. And now, I feel the school isn't a prison anymore like I thought it was... but I do."_

 _Kaede is trapped in her own cage. How ironic, but this is very bad news for the robot._

 _The shorter boy rests his head over the Pianist's shoulder, a logical way of comforting Kaede at times like this._

 _"Do you feel pressured or lonely?" The boy asked._

 _"Are you reading my mind or something?"  
_

 _"I just calculated."_

 _"Sometimes crying makes you feel better."_

 _He raised his brow, "That sounds... wrong."_

 _"It's okay to cry, Ki-Bo," Kaede chuckled as she releases the hug so she can face the robot "When you feel very heavy inside, all your worries and fear. The only way you can release it is to cry."_

 **|Loop 15|**

Impulsively, the 'sixteenth student' lifts his arms and slowly wrapped them around Kaede.

"I-I'm... s-sorry..." He whispered that only the girl can hear.

His classmates were looking at him like a zoo animal and he wanted to run away from their harsh eyes.

"I'm sorry..."

But at the same time, he's scared... and sad.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

He doesn't know why he has these heavy feelings weighing inside him. The more scared and sad he was, the heavier it will be.

"I was... s-scared," The 'sixteenth student' explained "I'm... so scared... I did-didn't know what t-to do..."

The boy wanted the leaking to stop but he can't, his body forced him to do so. Or so he thought.

"I-I n-never wanted to h-h-hurt everyone. I d... d-don't w-want to hurt... y-y-you again..." He struggles to say words when he felt something blocking his throat.

The pianist understood what he was saying. He didn't lie, she knows that. What he said is the truth.

"Then cry," Kaede utters as her tender arms calm the shaken boy "I'm here. You don't have to be scared anymore."

His sobs become louder for the students to hear.

"It's okay. It's gonna be okay," She faithfully swore as her gentle smile grew.

The 'sixteenth student' no longer has the desire to run away. Instead, he seeks comfort from a friend. That's all that is needed to end the chase.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." His clenched fist tightens as he fought the burdening weight that is about to break from the inside.

But if Kaede said it's okay to cry, then maybe he can let those feelings to break without worries. She swore on it. He can trust her because she promised.

He has to cry. He has to.

"I'm... sorry... I'm - "

The fragile glass shatters and the wave of imprisoned emotions ruptured into a storm.

Thus, he finally burst.

As the inner barricade that blocked his voice erupted, a rasping wail is released.

His well of tears gushed out from his eyes and soaked Kaede's sweater wet. It didn't matter for the pianist as long as her classmate cry and cry until there's nothing left.

The crying storm has echoed to the students like tress that's been swaying in the wind, some collapsed in relief as their hardships have been rewarded.

Kaito had to sit down on the ground while ignoring the fact that he might get dirt in his pants or his coat. He would have probably gone to the courtyard and sit on a bench nearby, but he still had to keep an eye on Kaede.

While the three were watching from a distance, Himiko's convulse is slowly reduced. This makes Tenko gratified on the mage's recovery before she remembered a certain degenerate male is with Himiko…

Kokichi is, unfortunately, still unconscious in the situation. Maybe he should have loosened his lunch earlier instead of holding them in. Looks like Kirumi has to medicate the supreme leader, she can't lose any more people. When she saw Gonta from afar, she did not hesitate to call the bug-loving gentleman.

Meanwhile, others stayed strong waiting for the next storm to come at any time.

Ryoma sighed in odd satisfaction. Although the convict doesn't know why he is content in the aftermath, he would rather have his concern about the truth of the Outside World. Adjusting his beanie, he looked up in the caged sky. Wondering if the twinkling stars were real or just a disguise.

The silent Angie, who only watched the whole conversation unfold, has her eyes grimly leered to the weeping 'sixteenth student'. She did not notice Kiyo was doing the same thing, but he is focused on Kaede more than the boy.

Shuichi approached Maki who is still having her guard to the two students. The detective placed a hand over her shoulder, she didn't budge but only shifted her eyes to him.

"Shuichi."

"Hm?"

"If what you said about the Killing Game is true," Maki pondered "What do you think Monokuma is up to right now?"

He wished he could move his mouth to say his answer, saying that the Killing Game won't end. With the truth of the Outside World revealed, the Mastermind might come up with a way to prevent any acts of rebellion against them. And that's the problem, the Mastermind might be lurking somewhere nearby with their mascot being temporarily out of the stage. Whatever he is going to say adds a bullet to the hitlist, his title is already a painted target on his back.

The brunette could only give Maki a weary look, "I don't know."

"You don't know?!" The disgruntled Miu overheard Shuichi's answer, "You were the one who told us that Monokuma will come back and you said 'you don't know'? What? You're taking it back or maybe you're the one who's scheming?"

Shuichi shook his head, "Please, Miu. Not now - "

"An unreliable Detective turned Killer? I wouldn't be surprised." The inventor turned away from Shuichi and gazed at Kaede, confident in her thoughts as she smirks without a care on the detective's feelings.

The hat-wearing boy couldn't care less on Miu's sudden judgment on him ever since they first met. She belittled him for wearing a hat, now she's misjudging Shuichi for being useless even though he has a valid Ultimate title. Then again, maybe he wasn't that helpful at all. Rantaro was even the one who does the interrogating, something that anyone with forensic experiences would do. He didn't even last long to help Kaede and Miu, it looks like she has a grudge on him for that.

Fidgeting his cap, Shuichi could only initiate his hypothesis in his concealed mind.

The chase for the 'sixteenth student' is over, the truth of the Outside World is revealed, and the Killing Game is postponed... for now. Such anomalies like this make the Mastermind very, VERY ticked.

It made **Tsumugi** very, VERY ticked.

Yes.

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet _Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony'_ s Mastermind, Tsumugi Shirogane. The Executive Producer of the reality show, the self-proclaimed 'writer' of the _V3_ kids, and the Ultimate Cosplayer in disguise.

Ki-Bo, our protagonist meanwhile, is the Ultimate I-D-I-O-T. The audience has no idea how ballistic Tsumugi felt when that stupid robot ruined half of the show's plot. He shut the Death Road of Despair down, led the students to know the truth of the Outside World too early, almost had her life threatened when Rantaro forced Monokuma to make the Mastermind appear, dismantled EVERY SINGLE EXISALS, and destroyed MONOKUMA HIMSELF.

Anger. As in, blood-boiling rage beyond her character. She's not lying, well, some of them were truths.

The part where she threw the rock, that's real. The part where she said all those 'hurtful' words to Ki-Bo, that's real too. He really ruined everything. She's not kidding about locking him up, just so she can torture him in the shadows. The only piece of information she didn't tell is her status as the Mastermind of the game. What kind of a fool would reveal their reputation that early? Tsumugi can't do that! The fun's just getting started until Ki-Bo came into existence. It seems likely that she has nothing to do but to go with the flow.

The Mastermind has to admit, she has her faults. She underestimated the characters a little too much, Kaede was able to lead all fifteen students with her optimism and the disgusting Rantaro almost killed her self-esteem because of his threat. Okay, maybe she should thank the hunk of junk for destroying Monokuma before the situation gets worse for her. Her option was to wait for the fire to die out before coming up with a plan to continue the Killing Game. She even has to check if the Motherkuma is still active despite the power problem, though calling Mr. Soda to fix the Exisals is like kicking her bucket before the show truly begins.

 **Ki-Bo**...

...the 53rd Ultimate Hope, the new mascot of Team Danganronpa and a representative as the 'Heart' of the _Danganronpa_ show. Tsumugi may be a contributor in creating the robot, but she doesn't treat him the same 'love' that the staff has been given before the game.

Long story short, at the time of rebranding the company, Makoto was given orders to make a mascot as a counterpart of Monokuma and it has to be in the image of 'what the Ultimate Hope is meant to be'. The Director stupidly did the exact order, Ki-Bo is created, and the rest is a broken history by the time the robot became a contestant in _V3_. Up until now, she couldn't understand what has gotten into Makoto's mind when doing the most ridiculous act she's ever witnessed.

The current Ultimate Hope was once a thorn in her side from the past 'episodes', now he has gotten this far to almost blowing her show to smithereens. She was going to give Ki-Bo mercy for being late to the class gathering, but the result of everything he did in one day has crossed the line. No more Mrs. Nice Shirogane!

This is unforgivable.

As for punishment, she now has plans, a ruse, enough to enrage even the most integrable, one fitting for the Ultimate Hope...

...that is Despairing enough just to **SPITE** him.

* * *

 **[!]**

 **REMEDY this situation?**

 **\+ YES**

 **NO**

* * *

 _"The wonders of Imagination. Welcome home, dear friend! Oh, how long have we've been waitin'?_

 _Let's create a masterpiece, breathe life into your dreams! All you gotta do is start up the machine."_

 _\- JT Music (Can't be erased)_

* * *

 **Time Outcomes: Loop 31 - Prologue (ULTIMATE REVIVAL) **

**1\. Ki-Bo unconsciously shut down all electricity in the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles.**

Result: The gathering of the students and meeting with the Monokuma family gets delayed. He also shut down the Death Road of Despair by accident.

 **2\. Kaede discovered Ki-Bo.**

Result: Ki-Bo accidentally shocks Kaede and ran away from his classmates. Causing the robot to lead them to the Boiler Room.

 **3\. As a result of making a temporary power outage in the Academy, the functions of the Death Road of Despair is disabled.**

Result: Kaede and the others were able to reach the 'Exit' in just one try. This also prevented Kokichi and the others from blaming Kaede, thus prevented any pressure given to her. Within the two chapters (this and Chapter 7), the value of teamwork is given emphasis and importance unlike what happened in the game.

 **4\. The whole class, 'except' Ki-Bo, knows the Truth of the Outside World.**

Result: Rantaro interrogated Monokuma and demanded the mascot to show the Mastermind of the Killing Game Semester.

 **5\. Ki-Bo used his tape recording function to unlock the Exisal Hangar.**

Result: He dismantled the Exisals and rewired the hydraulic press. Ki-Bo also accidentally destroyed Monokuma 'early' in this chapter.

 **6.** **Rantaro defied Monokuma**

Result: Monokuma agreed until Ki-Bo triggered an alarm. This causes Monokuma to get destroyed while Rantaro's foot stepped on by Tenko, preventing the Aikido Master to say something important to him.

 **7\. Everyone 'survived' on their first day.**

Result: Everything is a LiE - Tetsuya Idabashi.

 **8\. Kaede is not blamed after what happened in the Death Road of Despair.**

Result: They instead point their fingers to Ki-Bo who has Tsumugi's suspicions.

 **9\. Ki-Bo's actions triggered a Butterfly Effect and/or Ripple Effect**

Result: The character's personalities were affected and it also angered Tsumugi Shirogane.

* * *

 **Fun Shout Outs:**

1\. RandomRex6's _Three-Point Shot_ **.** Chihiro talked about 'disassembling' Tsumugi, which references her "All Dolled Up" execution. I'm still happy Tsumugi got what she deserved in that story. For new readers, this is one of the fanfictions that is a must-read in the V3 Era along with _I'd Trade My Life For Yours_ **.**

2\. grayimperia's _I'd Trade My Life For Yours_ **.** Mostly mentioning Miu's execution called "Ages of Invention: Reinventing the Wheel". I just heard this year that their fanfiction just ended. Congratulations to the author by the way.

3\. _Big Hero 6_. But this time, both Hamada brothers and Callaghan are dead.

4\. _Corpse Party_. No supernatural involvement there. Just a cry for justice.

5\. Junko does the 'think, think, think' pose from the _Winnie the Pooh_ series.

6\. The _Careless Whisper_ song. It's one of my favorites.

7\. Rovelae's _Machine_. It's not somehow referenced, but this is one of the fanfictions gave me the motivation to write at least. It's on Archive On Our Own, it's actually nice to read especially when it talked about Tsumugi's attempted 'plotline' in the last Class Trial of the game. **  
**

8\. The 'Noli' of **Protocol 92617 - _Noli_** originates from Dr. Jose Rizal's book called _Noli Me Tangere_ **.** Literally means 'Touch Me Not'. What would happen if it initiates? You gonna have to find out. The number 92617 is the English release date of this game.

9\. After Danganronpa 10 were the fangames listed as **Honorable Mentions** (so they're not technically connected to this story, they're like Easter Eggs) except for Miwashiba's _Danganronpa: Re:Birth_ since there are rules. So to be sure, I didn't put the title for now. But maybe one day.

10\. The novels mentioned in the list will be CANON in this universe. Including _IF_ and they will be counted in the Seasons list.

11\. The word 'Justice Incarnate' came from _Dust: An Elysian Tail_. This is the video game where Lucien Dodge stars in as Dust, Mr. Dodge is also Ki-Bo's voice actor.

12\. The 92617102917 is linked to the dates of two events. 92617 is the English release date of V3 while 102917 Ki-Bo's birthday. There is a reason why Team Danganronpa placed his birthday in-universe, though it won't show right now.

13\. The 'gibberish' words that Monokuma said (along with a little piece in the Team Danganronpa segment) were actually Base64 codes. You can decipher it online.

14\. The 'trap weapon' Miu and the others built is actually called a Bola. It's a weapon used to trap the hunter's prey by throwing the Bola directly to the legs. Which makes running impossible and would give time for the hunter to catch the prey.

15\. Kokichi's _"I love this plan. I'm excited to be a part of it."_ line is from the _Ghostbusters_ movie.

16\. Tetsuya Idabashi is the 'fan' name of Ki-Bo or probably his creator. Tetsuya came from his actor named Tetsuya Kakihara, known as _Fairy Tail's_ Natsu Dragneel and _Gundam Unicorn's_ Angelo Sauper. He is also Ki-Bo's voice actor in the Japanese version.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Please read):**

Allow me to quote a famous line in Mulan.

*inhales*

 **"I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!"**

Oh

my

goodness.

How long have I been 'out'?!

And the words... 34,750...and above?

First of all, I am so SO sorry for this... kind of scenario. I really did not expect I would finish a chapter like this in a year in a half? So many things had happened like school thesis and psychotherapy because of a certain trauma that happened to me last time.

I tried a lot to get my passion for writing back, A LOT. However, whenever I tried to make a word in this document, my hands were shaking. This means my trauma was still there and it's not helpful that I ended up doing nothing day by day. Recovery is hard, I already have three attempts of making my research thesis on my own while trying to write this chapter at the same time. I'm fine being solo, but the guilt of what happened is still there.

I've been thinking if doing schoolwork during my fourth year in college would help reboot my mind, though I've been busy doing those a lot. The good news is that I gained some perfect grades at some subjects like Web Design and Film, and yeah, my course is mostly involved with the Media. That's technically one of the ideas on how I created Team Danganronpa as a team of people working in a broadcast production. The time I published this, it's supposed to be last week. But I heard about the Kyoto Animation arson attack a few weeks ago so I decided to delay this as respect and then revise when the time is right. I hope justice prevails and may the souls rest in peace.

Because of the year long Writers Block and the number of words in this document, I think this might be one of my least favorite chapters to write along with so many revisions of the story like the Junko scene. I am actually not confident in the chapter, I'm not even sure if my writing style looks weird or something because it's been a while for me to write. I still need to re-read over and over in case there's an error nearby.

But I want to thank the people who supported me along the way when writing this chapter; my family, my friends, my therapists, even the people who read this story, everyone. This chapter becomes a therapeutic way to get over my fear of writing even if it's a little thing to do.

Fun stuff, this chapter is released when the Pinoy Big Brother Otso winners were announced. Congratulations to the first four winners and good luck to the Big 4 tomorrow.

Shoutout to 2na_milk, if I spelled it right, she's the one who wrote one of my favorite (BTS) stories titled "Together We Fall". I want to say congratulations to the completion of her fanfic.

So, for clarifications of some parts of the chapter:

Ryoko mentioned something about her revised script. Okay, so the 'sort of' part she mentioned has something to do with their 'rusty' relationship between her and Junko for some reason that will be tackled in the future chapters... hopefully. To clarify, the Junko in Team Danganronpa is now an A.I but she's still -Alive- in someway. Most of the staff had some slight dislike to her since she's the bad guy of the series. I've had multiple attempts and deleted scenes involving Junko's appearance. Junko was supposed to be Ryoko's split personality but that FLOPPED and I didn't feel like it would work. So I decided that I want Ryoko and Junko will be in their individual selves and not together.

And yes, Taichi Fujisaki is dead. I'm setting up the Major Character Death tag in the AO3 version of this too because there will be deaths (Taichi is included in the count). It's just not the people you would imagine and it's not just within the Danganronpa show but also in the Outside World. Chihiro's reaction to the Protocol is really intentional there, apologies for the pacing.

Despite the struggle, I still have fun writing the V3 cast. What's interesting is that I can experiment with the character's personalities, roles, and their reactions especially there are multiple interactions from multiple characters 30 loops ago, loop 31 is the recent. The cause of that is obviously Ki-Bo's butterfly and/or ripple effect, the students did have a point that he's... "inconsiderate" in a way. I can say that his actions affect the characters and the plot BIG TIME, the worst part is that he didn't notice it ever since he went through time. Remember Makoto saying "Idabashi doesn't exist"? Tetsuya Idabashi is one of the mysteries that is to be solved.

The Danganronpa show's name is "Danganronpa V3 Killing Harmony ~REWIND~: Justice Incarnate", the fanfiction title is still The Ultimate Punishment. This is kinda like what happened in IF.

I placed a trigger warning concerning the Panic Attack in the first segment along with the other content. I was going to edit or delete that part, but then I think I should try, take the risk, and see what is the end result to see if I did it right or I need to be more sensitive and fix it. If there are some inaccuracies, I really apologize. If there are any concerns, private message me so there will be some revisions.

 ***Other than that, I'm beginning to wonder whether I should change the dialogues of the previous chapters into the localized versions or keep it since Chapters 1 to 5 were published before the English version release dates so I relied on my gut feelings and translations to understand what they were saying years ago. What do you think?**

 **To be honest, I did not expect to write this whole story concept this far. Like, I wrote this story as a what-if scenario and it now became a series. I kept on re-reading the chapters and I'm still surprised that I did this and there are people who... liked it? I'm surprised too. Okay, I am getting curious, what were your expectations in this story before and after the 'Time Traveling' twist revealed?***

Okay, so announcements.

The **first** one is that I'm going to create a tumblr side blog for this fanfiction. Gonna put some future announcements, asks and answers, Deleted Scenes, Trivia, MMD CGs like in the game, profiles of the characters, the lore of the Outside World, and other stuff I could think of. Along with that, I'm gonna update the 'book cover' using MMD and photoshop too. It's gonna release on the day of the next chapter... I just hope I can finish that part.

The **second** one is that I have now two more active fanfictions that I am also writing on; _灯火の星 ALTERNATE「正義の炎」_ and _3016 TIME SLIP ON_. After this, I might as well both this chapter and publish the second chapter of ALTERNATE... Actually, I'm not sure how this would go, but I will do my best to unleash my imagination or something. I'm not so sure if I'm okay to announce a Hiatus because I have a college thesis to write to graduate. I'm still thinking about that...

The **third** one is that I am placing the Archive on Our Own version of T.U.P under 'minor' editing maintenance. Chapters 1 to 7 will be affected. Just fixing the spelling errors and such but not many, though I still have to inform in case.

Again, I REALLY apologize for the year and a half-long update, I did not expect that this would take long either. When will I update? I don't know when, but I'm not going to cancel this story.


End file.
